Darkness Rising
by WingsofRequiem
Summary: When a mission goes wrong, Talon finds himself in the center of a huge plot which could lead to eternal darkness over Valoran. And worst of all, his worst enemy is within himself, fighting to possess his body. Will Talon become the shadow that destroys the world? Or will he be able to find his ties to root himself to his humanity? TalonxKatarina,EzrealxLux,Blood,Gore,Lemons
1. Chapter 1

**Wings of the Raven**

**Summary: When a mission goes wrong, the Noxian Assassin Talon believes what he experienced was just a hallucination. But when a string of murder begins, Talon slowly uncovers a new side of him that had recently manifested within himself. Will Talon become the shadow that destroys the world? Or will he be able to find his ties to root himself to his humanity, his life, which centers on a certain Red Head? Horror Fic, KatarinaxTalon plus other pairings. Lots of death, so don't be surprised if one of your favorites die.**

**Genre : Horror, Romance, Action.**

**Rating : Rated M for Blood, Gore, Intense Violence, Sexual situations, Explicit Graphic Detailing, Character Deaths and Torture. Not recommended for anyone under the age of 19 or anyone who is squeamish, hates blood or dark fics or has the mental maturity level of a 3****rd**** Grader.**

**Story will Center on: Talon and Katarina du Couteau Mainly.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own League of Legends nor it's characters. Only this plotline.**

**ATTENTION: Before reading this, please know that you are reading this at your own risk. I do not take responsibility for any sleepless nights or soiled pants. So, simply, if you do not find this story to your liking, do not read it. You do not need to write a 2000 word review detailing on how much you hated this fic. Have something to say? Say it. Reviews are welcomed. Spotted a flaw or think of a suggestion to better my writing? Please say so, I welcome constructive criticism. Request the death/survival of a character? I will think about it.  
Seriously, If you have anything to say or any questions, I will address you personally next chapter to answer your queries. I will also be dedicating a small section to everyone who reviews. Be warned though, if you act like an asshole, you won't get a response from me. Be smart. **

**Chapter 1: Prologue**

It was a simple mission, to be straight forward. A mission that would mean death for most men, yes, but something that was trivial for the experienced Noxian Assassin. Talon stood on the roof of a large building, one food on the edge of the roof, looking down at the people passing by, brightly lit by the street lights. Demacia was always brightly lit, unlike his home city. His trained eyes instantly spotted each and every single route he could use to escape through, all the people who posed a threat and most importantly, his target. An envoy was passing through, with a carriage in the middle of the processions. On all sides of the horse-drawn carriage was atleast a hundred heavily armed guards. Talon smirked, crouched low as he blended in with the night sky at his back. All of these guards were heavily armed and armored, yes, but the term itself was their weakness. They were heavy, and, therefore could not match either Talon's speed or his finesse. He was a league champion. These people were soldiers, battle hardened and elite but still just soldiers.

His orders had come from High Command itself. The person within the carriage was supposedly a man who had something to do with the disappearance of Talon's master and the most respected person in his life; General Marcus Du Couteau. As soon as the fact that this man had something to do with the General's disappearance came up, Talon had decided that he would take this mission.  
With that in mind, Talon walked back and then jumped off the roof into an alleyway. He landed lightly on his feet with the magic-aided skill of an elite assassin, as he scared a street rat who resided there. The rat stared at him in wonder as Talon glanced at him with a cold, piercing look. The rat smartly said nothing and pretended not to notice Talon, going back to gnawing on an apple core. Talon turned around and walked to the street, stopping at the edge of the alley, just outside the circle of light coming from the street lights. Most people didn't know this, but the darkest place was actually just outside the light's circle. Some eyes passed over him without even realizing his had a blade cloak or he had his signature weapon on his arm. Their eyes, the pupils small from the lights of the street, only saw his hooded silhouette before moving onto other bright things. Like always, Talon was hiding in plain sight. As the envoy grew close, Talon prepared his magic. The general had taught him the ways of an assassin, and therefore, he knew how to use it easily and efficiently. With eerie Silence, Talon faded from view, becoming completely invisible. His purple clothes and capes, the ones he always wears, were already magically altered so that they would become invisible if he became invisible. That save some energy for Talon as well as some work.

With the soundlessness of a phantom, Talon skulked forward, moving quick and accurately, automatically making a path to his target that would cause the least encounters. Within moments, he was next to the envoy. And then, the next second, he was inside the carriage, the door open where it had been closed moments before. There was a man inside, who seemed shocked to see Talon standing inside the carriage when, a second before, he wasn't even there. He had a large, wrapped object on his lap, as large as a chest. The inside of the carriage was strangely dark and cold. As the man gaped, some of the guards outside noticed the door suddenly being open. Talon knew his time was short. "Where is General Marcus Du Couteau." He said in his deep, intimidatingly calm voice.

"What!?" The man managed to say.  
"Wrong answer." Talon said, before he pulled his arm and his blade back. The man's eyes widened as he quickly brought the large package on his laps up to shield himself. Talon thrust forward and his blade collided with the package… And then, something exploded. Talon found himself lying on the road, his body cut up and badly bruised. He raised his head to see that the carriage had exploded and he had blacked out for a few seconds while he flew off. But then, Talon's eyes widened. The wrapped object he had destroyed was a crystal. A Nexus Crystal… And now, everything was dark. Darker than normal. All the lights were out. This darkness felt unnatural… Cold… And as much as Talon was foreign to the feeling, he felt fear. He tried to sit up, but found that his body was too badly injured from the explosion. He had definitely broken some bones and his body was still recovering from the shock. And then, as he looked up into the pitch blackness, he saw two orbs of bluish white staring at him. Then Talon realized what he had done. He had destroyed the prison that held one of the deadliest creatures in the world. Talon had freed Nocturne.

Nocturne, however, seemed to be distorted. Even as Talon watched, Nocturne flickered, occasionally disappearing for a fraction of a second before reappearing. He seemed to be vibrating, like static, unclear to Talon's eyes. Nocturne spoke in it's hissing voice, reminding Talon of the deathly whisper of death itself and freezing him to the bone.

"Talon… What a surprise. Out of all the beings who might've freed me, you are the last one I expected…" Nocturne said, looking down at Talon. The darkness made it look like Nocturne had no body. Or maybe the entire thing was Nocturne. Talon, for the first time ever, felt completely outmatched. Even when he fought General Du Couteau, he felt like he stood a chance at first. Now, he knew that try as he might ,he could not beat this creature.

"I am a being hellbent on killing everything, Talon, as you know. But I do not let deeds like this pass by. Therefore, I thank you for giving me the chance to destroy everything. Unfortunately, the magic of the nexus crystal that bound me is affecting me horribly now that it has been destroyed. Even now, I feel my power dissipating into ethereality. I feel each and every particle of my body being torn apart and scattered into the void. I need a physical link… I need… You." Nocturne said, and then, grabbing both sides of Talon's head with his vicious hands, Nocturne stared directly into Talon's eyes. And then, Talon experienced pain and horror like he had never experienced before….

It was utter chaos. People were fleeing from the center of the city like there was wildfire. From what was gathered, there had been a bomb explosion, leaving almost everyone present in that area dead, including all 100 soldiers of the guarded envoy that had been passing through. Garen feared the worst, as he knew that Nocturne was being transported in that envoy. As he quickly ran towards the location, he met up with Xin Zhao, who was also heading in the same direction. "You heard?" Garen said, to which Xin nodded. "Jarvan the Third informed me." Xin said as he and Garen ran towards where the commotion was.

When they reached the place, they stood frozen still for a few seconds. The ground was nothing but a pond of blood now, not even one inch of road or pavement visible that wasn't covered by a layer of reddish liquid. Bodies lied here and there, but they didn't look like they were blown up. They were sliced apart by a weapon that had cut them into pieces. By a blade. And in the center of the pond of blood, stood one man. He was completely pitch black in color, but definitely a humanoid shape. He had two V shaped reddish marks on his otherwise featureless face, black as his body. One V was above the other, and both was where his eyes should be. They gave him the appearance of wearing a helmet. He was wearing something like a bladed cape, completely black and flaming at the edges, like it was made of fire forged of shadows. Garen and Xin instantly ran to the man, keep their distance as they stopped 20 ft from it.

"Who-No…. What in the name of Demacia are you!?" Garen demanded, brandishing his greatsword while Xin held his spear at the ready. The black figure slowly turned it's head at the two soldiers, it's reddish V's glowing, more prominent because of it's pitch black body. Now that Garen was closer, he could see that it was impossible to tell any features of this being. He couldn't tell if the being was wearing clothes or armor or anything. He could just make out the head, body, arms and legs as well as the reddish glowing V's. The being looked at Garen's sword first, and then at Xin's sword. And then, with almost no sound, it's right hand extended. No, it's right hand didn't extend… Something came out of it's right hand, slowly elongating before taking shape. It was a blade, black as the being and attached to the top of it's arm. Finally, Garen could put the blade and the cape together. "Talon?" Garen said in disbelief. Xin seemed stunned. And then, without warning, Talon was standing behind Xin. Before Xin could React, Talon spun around, his cape suddenly moving more than it should, like he was controlling each blade individually. They sliced through the air, leaving black smoky motion trails, and passed Xin. Garen froze as Xin froze as well, both staring at Talon. For a moment, Garen thought the blades had missed Xin. But then, Talon raised his left hand and closed it into a fist, with his forefinger extended. He slowly reached over to Xin's face, who was still standing stock still… And poked Xin in the forehead. That push was all that was needed to cause Xin's body to collapse into 6 different pieces. Xin's organs burst out along with blood as he fell to the ground in pieces, cut completely through at his mid-thighs, waist, stomach, chest and neck. Garen stood as still as a statue. Talon's blade-cape had passed through Xin with absolutely no resistance, which seemed impossible. And as he stared, Talon vanished into nothingness. By the time the oppressing feeling of this new Talon's presence was gone, Garen vomited at the sight of the gore before stumbling back and falling, disoriented and nauseated horribly from such a traumatizing sight. He was found minutes later lying in the pool of blood, his eyes staring blankly up at the sky in shock…

His eyes opened instantly as he jumped off the grassy ground, instantly swinging his armblade around in a circle at anything attacking him. His blade passed through thin air as Talon panted, taking deep, heavy breaths as he looked around. He was in a forest, miles away from Demacia, sleeping next to a large tree which shaded him from the bright sun which was shining down upon the land. Talon groped his chest, neck and face with his left hand, checking for any injuries from the previous night. Nothing. He noticed a stream near by and walked over to it. Getting down on one knee, he looked down at the water. His reflection stared back at him, as normal as ever, with shoulder-length brown hair and dark brown eyes. Talon sighed, closing his eyes and putting his left hand on his forehead, fingers massaging his temples. "I don't… know… Must've been the shock… from the explosion… Probably just a shock-wave grenade… Messed with my head… Just a nightmare." He muttered, speaking instead of thinking to further convince himself.

He stood up, intent on riding back to Noxus as fast as he could. But before he left, his reflection in the stream flickered. For a moment, his hair had turned black and his eyes had turned icy blue. Bu that moment passed unnoticed as Talon pulled his hood back up and continued on foot to the road… He had to get a ride back to Noxus as fast as he could. Hallucinations or not, he had killed his target. He had scheduled a pickup to arrive at Drendin's Crossing, which was about 10 miles away from Demacia… He had to get there to get to his getaway. And then, he would be back in the Du Couteau manor, with the only other two people that meant more to him than his life did. The daughters of the General Du Couteau, Katarina and Cassiopeia… An image of the oldest daughter flashed through his mind. Her dark red hair framing her white face, her emerald eyes staring at him with defiance. The lone scar on her eye, instead of marring her beauty, made her more attractive in Talon's eyes. A battle scar to be shown proudly, as Katarina never made an effort to hide it. He remembered how she'd smirk at him, and instantly, his tense mind relaxed. He sighed, continuing to walk until he reached the dirt road, then continuing south towards Drendin's Crossing. Again, something escaped his notice… A subtle snicker filled with malice, emanating from the back of his mind…

**That's the first chapter of this story. Read and Review people, even if it's just to say "Omg, I luv ur fic !11!1" Anonymous Reviews are accepted so even if you don't have an account, you can offer your thoughts on the story. Hope you liked it, and farewell.**

"_**First Rule: Know your situation. Study your location. Watch your company. And always have an exit route."**_


	2. Chapter 2

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**So hey there guys. You know, I had written a small section here thanking all of you for your reviews. But MS Word decided to be a bitch about it and I mistakenly lost it. So I don't want to write it again. So, I'll simply thank all of you reviewers here. Thank you for reviewing, Nightbreed6, TehDARKTemplar [Who was, by the way, my inspiration for this story.], 1 and Anon.**

**Anyway, here's the next chapter! Enjoy.**

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**Wings of the Raven**

**Chapter 2 – Homecoming**

The gates opened on quiet, oiled hinges, as the elite soldiers guarding the mansion bowed their heads in respect to the Blade's Shadow and their General's protégé. Talon barely glanced at them as he walked with purposeful steps towards the mansion. He was sore and tired from all the travelling. Riding under a pile of hay wasn't very comfortable. Closing to the Manor, he heard noises coming from the backyard. Familiar whistling noises of spinning blades being thrown through the air and the whacking noises they produced as they hit their marks. A small smirk grew on Talon's lips as he changed course and walked around the manor to its training courtyard.

As he expected, a certain red-haired woman was flinging daggers rapidly at randomly placed target- dummies. Her daggers flew with the speed and precision of someone who had been perfecting this art for years. Each dagger hit vital areas on her targets. Necks, hearts, shoulders, foreheads, Eyes, etc. Just outside the training area, there was a low wall, behind which a few people stood, ready to crouch and dodge daggers that might miss and come at them instead. However, everyone stood without fear, as Katarina's daggers seldom missed. Instead, they were throwing projectiles of their own, weapons such as blunted daggers or round, flat discs or even stones. They were throwing them at Katarina, who was dodging each and every projectile nimbly while throwing her own daggers at the targets. Talon walked up to the courtyard, Katarina's back to him, and leaned against the low wall, watching, his hands crossed as he half-leaned, half sat on the wall. Katarina was wearing her usual work-out clothes, which were a pair of black, fitting tank tops and similar black shorts that reached down to mid-thigh. Her stomach was bared slightly, about an inch or so, revealing just a glimpse of her tattoo. As she was throwing her knives, Talon suddenly said, "Not that hard."

Katarina jumped, her knife flying wide of the target as a man dived aside to dodge the dagger, which flew very far indeed, arcing late before embedding itself deep into the trunk of a tree, close to the ground. Katarina turned around with fury in her eyes, almost as furious as her hair. But once she saw Talon, her expression instantly softened, although not by much. "The first thing you had to say to me after coming back from a month long trip to the most dangerous place on this world for you is criticism of my knife throwing?" Katarina said in an indignant tone, although she had a smirk on her face. Talon's lips curled up slightly in a small smirk of his own, one he reserved for this individual.

"Weakness demands criticism." He simply said, as Katarina scoffed. "Oh? And How is throwing too hard a weakness?" She demanded, walking up to him as Talon sighed. The latter then got to his feet and walked over to a dummy, where a dagger had sunk hilt-deep into the head of the dummy. Talon felt the dummy's torso to get a good thought on how hard or soft it was and how much it resembled the varying degrees of hardness of the human body. It was well made, soft on initial touch but harder inside, like one might find bone. "Your knife has gone through the head too far in. You would've killed your opponent with a much easier throw instead of expending such energy to throw it this hard. Be precise and deadly, not brutish and powerful. A throw like that…" Talon said, looking over to the knife in the tree. "Would use up too much energy to be efficient. Also, it would send your target flying back from the force." He said, pulling the dagger out of the dummy with a strong jerk. He studied the dagger, looking at it with too much interest for a few moments before he threw it upwards. "Always attack in a way your target is not expecting." He said, as the dagger arced above, it's momentum being affected by the wind. Katarina kept looking at it until she realized, with a slight yelp and a jump back, that it was aimed at her. The dagger fell just where she had been seconds ago, handle shaking ominously as it stuck up from the ground. "What the fuck, Talon!? You could've killed me." She said angrily, as Talon looked at her, his smirk back on his face. "If you couldn't even have dodged that, you would've killed yourself out of shame."

Katarina's eyes narrowed, a slight blush creeping onto her face as she realized that Talon was right. If she was hit by such an easy and slow move, she'd die out of embarrassment. Katarina, however, wanted payback. Mistake or not, The Sinister Blade allowed no one to criticize her without repercussions. Stepping in close to Talon, far into his personal space, almost leaning into him, she said in a low voice, "You know Talon… I think I know what you're doing…" She said in a low, seductive voice. Talon stared impassively down at her, doing his best to avoid her emerald eyes which were sparkling in the light. Her scent, the smell of her sweat, of blood and the unique smell that belonged to her, mixed together to form an intoxicating smell that made Talon want to do unknown things. Talon's mind, which was always focused, was focused on one thing only. _'Don't look. Don't look. Don't look. Don't look. Don't l-' _Despite that, he could see her cleavage at the bottom of his vision, the tank top leaving little to imagination of her curves. He could barely see her bra, which was as black as the tank top itself. His left cheek muscle twitched, and that was all Katarina needed to know that Talon had fallen.

Out of no-where, Katarina drove her fist into Talon's stomach, causing the purple-clothed Assassin to stagger back, grunting in pain and doubling over as Katarina massaged her knuckles. _Damn_, she thought. _He doesn't wear any armor, but he must have abs of steel or something…_

"If you're gonna insult me about my flaws, you should do so after you get rid of your own flaws. Master Assassin or not, Females have sexual appeal over males such as yourself and like an amateur, you get distracted." She said, grinning in triumph as Talon stared coldly at her. He didn't get distracted by sexual appeal. Unless it belonged to the person he was currently speaking to. _But damn... She knows how to throw a punch. _Talon thought in his mind, straightening up again. As Katarina walked back to the manor to freshen up, Talon decided he'd do the same. He'd been in his assassin clothing for too long.

Talon was polishing his blade in his room, which was bare except for a comfortable bed, a bookshelf, mounts on the wall for his weaponry and a few mannequins which wore some of his outfits. There was also a dresser and a large mirror. Two large windows were on two sides of the room, while a third side had a door into the hallway of the manor. Talon was dressed in a simple pair of grey pants, topless for now as he concentrated on cleaning his blade. A true assassin never let his blade get sullied by blood and neglect cleaning it. Neglect meant rust. Rust meant a faulty blade. A faulty blade meant death. But ofcourse, each of his personal blades were imbued by runic ancient magic. His arm blade never lost their edge, even after being used to cut through bone. He could've hammered the sword all day but it wouldn't break or lose its edge. Hell, he wouldn't even be able to scratch it. But that didn't mean he wouldn't take care of it. Talon stopped polishing his blade, tensing up. A second later, someone knocked on the door, causing Talon to relax. But only slightly. He grabbed a dagger that he kept under his pillow, raising it as he said, "Come in."

The door opened to reveal Katarina, who was dressed in comfort clothes. A pair of black pants and a dark green sleeveless top that made her eyes more prominent, her long red hair always unbound and free. Talon lowered his hand and the dagger, while Katarina gave it no importance other than a glance of approval. Both of the assassins had taken to being on guard whenever anything happened, even within their own house.

"Lunch is ready." She said, as Talon stood up and raised an eyebrow, walking over to his dresser. "Did you cook it?" He asked casually enough, although both of them got the meaning of this inside joke. Katarina flushed, her eyes flashing dangerously as she said, "Do you want me to?"

Pulling a plain black t-shirt on, Talon pushed his long brown bangs out of his eyes and said, "Thanks, but I'd rather live another day."  
As talented as Katarina was, she couldn't cook even if a cookbook hit her on the face. Although Talon would pity the poor sap who'd throw the book, he'd pity himself even more as whenever Katarina cooked, Talon had no choice to eat it. He remembered the last time he ate Katarina's 'Special Stew.' He knew Cassiopeia's compliment was too good to be true, but he tried it nevertheless. He woke up 4 days later in bed, with a professional institute healer overseeing him. The medical healer rated his poisoning "Stronger than the poisons found on Teemo's darts." Since then, Talon taken to avoiding food whenever it had anything to do with Katarina preparing it.

As they walked to the dining room, Talon saw that Cassiopeia was already there. He had grown accustomed to her head-dress and did see that, a monstrous serpent or not, she was quite pretty. She wasn't his type, however.  
"Greetingsss Talon." Cassiopeia said in her hissing tone, which gave her an elusive, cunning tone, fitting for her. "Hello Lady Cassiopeia." Talon said, as Cassiopeia rolled her eyes. Or what looked to be her rolling her eyes. Because of the greenish glow, Talon couldn't exactly tell. "How many timessss mussst I ssssay, Talon, to call me Casssss?" She said, offering Talon a friendly smile. Talon shrugged. Katarina and Cassiopeia just nodded at each other. Talon knew that although the sisters had a cool relationship, they cared about each other and would aid each other if it came down to it.

Sitting down, lunch time went without any real incident, the conversation mainly focusing on Talon's mission in Demacia and how it went. Talon was very vague about the details, mainly about the hallucinations. After everyone was done eating lunch, Cassiopeia spoke up. "You know Talon… You ssssseem different." She said, studying Talon with an intrigued gaze. The tail of her snake-half was off the ground, swaying from left to right in mild interest. Talon raised an eyebrow, as Katarina now squinted at Talon, frowning, trying to figure out how he was different. "How so, Lady Cassi- Er… Cas?" He asked, cutting himself off as the half-snake, half woman's eyes flashed dangerously when he was about to call her Lady Cassiopeia. Although normally she liked being treated like the royalty she was, she thought of Talon as family and didn't want the term from him. "I don't know… But it's sort of a snake thing. I can sense something upon you… Something sinister." Cassiopeia said, brows furrowed in confusion. Talon's eyes became hard, although his face stayed impassive. "When someone spends a lifetime killing, that tends to happen." He said nonchalantly, standing up and leaving the room before anyone could stop him. He wasn't offended… He was actually worried that maybe what he hallucinated about… Wasn't a hallucination at all.

Katarina's eyes slowly opened, as her parched tongue felt like sandpaper rubbing against the top of her mouth. Groaning, she got up, dressed in a black night-dress that reached down to her knees as well as a pair of loose white trousers. She was thirsty. As she silently eased her door open and stalked towards the dining room, she wondered what had gotten into Talon. He had stayed in his room after lunch until Dinner. And even at dinner, he ate silently and went back to his room right after… Katarina knew something was wrong with him, even if she couldn't figure out what. The man just felt… distant.

As she neared the dining room, she saw that there was already someone there. She tensed, before noticing the silhouette of the man. Relaxing, she said in a low night-time voice, "Oh Talon… It's you… What are you doing up so late?" She asked.

Talon didn't respond, his back to her, shrouded in darkness. She stepped into the room, slowly walking towards him. Her bare feet felt the ice-cold floor, causing her to wince. Her breath came out as a mist. _'What the hell?' _She thought, shivering at the sudden drop in temperature. Her eyes weren't adjusting to the darkness either. Everything was getting even darker, if that was possible. "Talon?" She asked tentatively. She was just a few feet away from him now, as Talon slowly began to turn around. The moon came out from behind the clouds and the light fell into the room, showing Talon's features. Katarina froze, even her breathing becoming still. Talon's normally dark brown hair was completely black, falling to his shoulders. He seemed much paler and whiter and his eyes were icy blue instead of their normal warm brown color. The blue eyes seemed unreal… "Hello, Katarina." He said, and even his voice, which was always quite emotionless except for just the slightest bits of expression, was filled with malice. "You are just in time… To have some fun with me." Talon said, as Katarina's instincts suddenly flared. Just as she was about to back off, Talon reached forward with unnatural speed and grabbed her by the neck, raising her off the floor with scary ease. Even Talon wasn't that strong. Katarina choked, although not because Talon was choking her. It was because his skin was unnaturally cold. Like his eyes. She felt sharp objects digging into the skin of her neck… Claws? Her eyes showed true confusion and fear as Talon watched her struggle with an uncharacteristic smile on his face. He was enjoying her pain. Now Katarina knew that this man in front of her wasn't Talon.

"T-Talon… Wha-" She managed to choke out, as Talon grinned, revealing sharp fangs instead of teeth. This was getting too freakish, as Katarina's breathing began to speed up, her body panicking. Talon used his free hand to grab Katarina's right hand, which was trying to get him to relinquish his grip on her neck along with her left hand, and brought it to his face. He sniffed it before rubbing the back of her hand onto his cheek. "You have such soft hands, Katarina…" He said, his tongue caressing her name, rolling the R. "Such a sweet smell… Makes me want to taste it." He said, as he turned her hand to expose the underside of her wrist to him. No matter how much Katarina kicked out or tried to wrench her hand from him, Talon might've been a man made of metal. Her kicks bounced off of him without him even moving and his grip was like an iron vice. He bared his fangs as Katarina could only watch in horror before he bit down into her wrist.

Katarina screamed loudly and in pain, suddenly jumping in her bed as she sat up quickly, eyes wide with terror and heart pounding a million miles. She quickly put her hands on her neck, feeling it to check for any bruises before she inspected her right wrist. There was no bite mark nor any injury. She panted, breathing heavy and ragged, recovering from her nightmare… It had seemed so real.

The door to her room suddenly burst open as Talon entered. It was dark, and suddenly, the Talon she saw in her dream flashed across her vision. Uttering a small scream, she panicked, instantly reaching for the Dagger under her pillow and throwing it at Talon. "Katarina What's wr-" Talon instantly turned to his right and leaned back, dodging the dagger that went spinning where his head was moments ago, just passing in front of his face and embedding itself into the wall outside her room with a sound like a gunshot. Talon stared wide-eyed at the dagger for a few seconds before looking over to Katarina, who was gasping heavily and trembling. Talon instantly walked briskly over to her bed, sitting down next to Katarina, who had brought her knees up and was hugging it, her face buried against the silk sheets covering her knees. Talon did what felt natural and put an arm around her back, holding her close against himself as she cried into her knees, hating herself for breaking down like this as well as for almost killing Talon with that throw. But she was, for the first time in her life, more afraid than she had ever been. And Talon himself was afraid… About what Katarina must've dreamt to have reduced her to this… He hoped her dream wasn't as bad as his was. Because in his dream, he saw himself hurting her. He saw himself lifting her up and then biting into her wrist…. It felt so real. The softness of her cheek on his cheek. The warmth of her body radiating through his hand into his body. The taste of her blood which seemed to cause insane thrill inside of him….

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**Again, hope you liked the chapter, please Review on what your thoughts are. What you think is gonna happen, what you liked about this chapter, what you didn't like, how I can improve, etc.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Before I begin, I would like to thank all of the people who've reviewed my story!**

**Nightbreed6, TehDARKTemplar, 1, anon, 4ssassin, Anon, Guest, That guy, Guest, Stolenwarpig and Lord of t3h ring.**

**Thanks a lot guys, your reviews are what keeps me going!**

**Announcement: I'll be going to Thailand on 19****th**** June, so I'll be inactive for the week after that! I will come back after the trip and update, so stay tuned!**

**Also, I'm having a hard time deciding on what to call this Talon/Nocturne Hybrid. The Blade's Darkness is a nice little alias, but too long. Any suggestions?**

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**Wings of the Raven**

**Chapter 3 – Nightmare**

The steady stream of sunlight was at first welcoming, but then it was beginning to annoy her. Soon, she opened her eyes, uttering a small noise of displeasure. Eyes open just a tad bit, she realized where she was and how she was lying before her eyes opened completely in shock. She was on her bed, lying next to Talon. She had one of her hands draped over his chest. So basically, she had slept while hugging him all night. She instantly pulled herself up into a sitting position, getting away from Talon while a mad blush crept up onto her face. The movement and shifting caused Talon to wake up, one of his eyes opening to peer at Katarina as he said, "Anything wrong, Katarina?"

Katarina was about to offer a venomous respond to why he was sleeping with her until the events of last night came back to her. Her face slowly became more sour than angry, before turning into a passive anger. She couldn't believe she let herself break down like that. But it was her weakness. Her family. When it came to her family, she would always go into overdrive. She could still remember how she had beaten Talon enough to incapacitate him because he was so cool and calm about the disappearance of Marcus, her father. "I'm…" She muttered, as Talon opened both of his eyes and sat up. He was wearing a White T-shirt that fit well onto his slim but muscled form. Intrigued, Talon wondered what Katarina was stuttering about until Katarina stopped, took a small breath then said, "I'm sorry you had to see me like this Talon."

Talon was at first confused about what she was talking about. But then he realized she was apologizing for her weakness and his face softened. "Katarina… The Strong survive and the weak fall, that is the way of Noxus. But only the strong can show their weakness proudly, never letting it pull them down. That is the difference between the strong and the weak. Don't be ashamed of yourself. Be proud that, even after through all of this, you are standing tall and proud." Talon said, pulling his legs off the side of the bed and standing up. Stretching a bit, he winced at the sunlight, which was usual for him. But somehow, the sunlight felt much more irritating than usual. He quickly walked away into the shade, although it seemed like a casual quickness to get freshened up, and left the room. Katarina sat there for a few more seconds, her right hand slowly coming up to her chest. She put it on her sternum, feeling her heartbeat as she stared down at the bed sheets. "If only you knew Talon…" She muttered, her mind being tortured by that same image. The image of Talon with black hair and icy blue eyes…

Talon washed his face in his bathroom, having brushed his teeth and shaved moments earlier. He looked up from his sink into his reflection in the mirror, his brown eyes studying his face with an intense gaze. As he watched, however, his eyes suddenly turned Icy Blue. Talon blinked hard and leaned back, straightening up, looking back at the mirror. It was back to normal, no icy blue eyes or anything. Talon shook his head, muttering something about losing his mind as he turned around and left. His reflection, however, stayed on the mirror, smiling maliciously as it's eyes turned Icy blue and it's hair turned black. It watched Talon go, it's lips curled into a contemptuous smile as it slowly backed away, the light of the bathroom automatically flickering out, throwing everything into darkness.

"Come on Katarina, I'm sure that's not your best." Talon said as Katarina roared and charged him again. Both he and Katarina were wearing black T-shirts and tan-colored pants, both made of durable material. Katarina jumped as she neared Talon, spinning around to execute a round-house kick at Talon's head. Talon leaned to his right as the kick came from the left, letting the kick soar over his head as he rolled his head under the kick, leaning down, then left and up again back to his original position. He caught Katarina's elbow as she tried to hit him while she had her back turned, and then pulled her close to him. He pressed his palm against her collarbone, both of them stilling as Talon smirked in victory. If he had a blade, she'd be dead right now. Or, at least, in no position to argue.

Out of nowhere, however, Katarina moved her hips. It rubbed against the front of Talon's pants, causing him to be taken aback by surprise. Suddenly Katarina leaned forward, breaking out of his grip, and kicked out behind her, executing a perfect Mule-kick at Talon's stomach. Talon grunted in pain, almost falling back from the force as Katarina rolled forward to take care of the momentum and turned around in a crouch to face Talon, a sly smile on her face. "Playing dirty, are we Katarina?" Talon said in a contemptuous tone.

"Assassins are known for their surprises and low-blows. Do you expect an assassin to be honorable in a fight?" Katarina asked, her eyebrow going up. "Touché." Talon said, as they both ran at each other and clashed again.

Cassiopeia was lounging on the balcony. The day, although slightly sunny, was cloudy enough to give a comfortable, warm weather that didn't have the sun shining down on them. She was looking at Talon and Katarina spar with slight interest, studying them with the eyes of a league champion. Whereas Katarina was extremely aggressive, Talon seemed to be slightly passive. But she could see the heat in Talon's eyes. He was waiting for the perfect moment to strike. And then, just as Katarina tried to kick Talon's head, Talon ducked under it and lunged, shouldering into Katarina's outstretched leg right at the back of her knee. This caused her to fall backwards, while Talon held her leg up over her as a way of keeping her down. Cassiopeia took one look at this and then fell down laughing, clutching her sides. Their position looked like a sex position. Oh teasing these two was going to be so much fun…

Back in the courtyard, Talon was just helping Katarina off the ground. Katarina turned around, walking over to the small table off to the side where cold towels were kept, brushing the dust off of her butt. This however, caused the butt to shake slightly, something Talon noticed. His eye twitched. _'Goddammit Talon, would you stop gawking at her butt? But really, why are butts so interesting?'_

Katarina threw one of the cold, damp towels to Talon, who caught it. Then, together, they began walking back to the mansion, wiping their heated faces, necks and arms with the towel. They made idle banter on their sparring session, but as they walked in, one of the guards walked forward to meet them. "Master Talon, I come bearing a message." He said, and as Talon waited, the man continued, "High General Swain would like to meet you urgently." Talon was confused, but he nodded.

20 minutes Later, Talon was wearing his signature purple uniform as he travelled to the office of the High General. He ran most of the way via freerunning, jumping over roofs or doing insane falls without injury. Soon enough, he was walking up the hall which was lined up by the Raedsel. One of them, however, stopped him and told him to disarm himself. He consented to giving his arm blade away, but he kept all of his hidden knives on him. The doors opened before he entered, so he simply walked in to see the old General standing over his desk. The doors closed again and Talon noted that there was two Raedsel next to the door.

"Talon. You've put me in quite a tough spot." He said, as Talon's eyes narrowed infinitesimally. He stayed silent as Swain paced around in his room. "You see, young bird, when I sent you on that mission to Free Nocturne…" Swain paused, noting Talon's shock on his face. "… You weren't supposed to survive." Swain said. That was the exact moment when Talon turned around to see the doors burst open. The Raedsel trooped in, along with notable figures within them. Darius, the Hand of Noxus, walked in, more bulky and imposing than anyone there. Beside him was Draven, the Glorious Executioner. Talon instantly got into a combative stance, although he was badly surrounded. "Do not worry, Talon, my dear boy… I will give Katarina a notice on how we found out that you were planning on betraying Noxus." He said as he then walked out of the room. On his way out, he said, "Goodbye, Young bird."

"Tch." Came the only sound from Talon as Draven stepped forward. "Guards, step back and don't interfere. I want to see how the Blade's Shadow fights without a Blade." He cackled at his own joke, as Talon narrowed his eyes. He flexed his wrists, feeling the gauntlet in on his arms that carried a concealed punch-dagger. When he punched, the pressure would cause the dagger to thrust forward. Draven brought out one of his axes and began spinning them. "So long, Talon old friend old pal!" Draven said sarcastically, before he threw his axe at Talon. Talon, like a professional, sidestepped the blow. He was about to dodge Draven's other axe, which was already spinning in the man's hand, when Draven lowered his hand a bit. Most likely by mistake, as the tip of the blade hit the marble floor and created a loud noise. But Draven was studying Talon's face and then grinned. Talon was confused for a split second until he felt something ripping through the back of his calf. Because of his stance, it only cut through a few inches deep into his left calf. If he was standing normally, he wouldn't lost both of his legs. He uttered a small "GAH." Of pain and fell down to his knees, holding onto his wound tightly as it squirted blood, gushing like a fountain. Draven caught the axe and cackled as Talon caught on to the ruse. Draven had intentionally caused his axe to hit the marble at the same time his thrown axe ricocheted off the wall, masking the noise. Draven continued to cackle loudly as he spun both of his axes. "Any Last words, Assassin?" He said, as Talon suddenly froze. His bleed had stopped. Instead of blood, black semi-liquid material was covering it like a bandage. Infront of their eyes, Talon's hair turned black and his skin became paler as well as lighter. He stood up, his hair falling out from infront of his eyes to reveal icy blue eyes that were glowing, pupils turning into slits. "Yes, Executioner…" He said, suddenly standing behind Draven, his back to Dravens back. The black liquid had now also appeared to cover his entire arms, making them claw like. Two blade-like extensions were protruding from the end of each elbow. As soon as Draven turned around, Talon thrust both of his elbows back, his pectoral muscles extended so the blades at the ends of his elbows pierced the same spot, which was the middle of Draven's chest. Draven froze where he was, staring down in horror at the blades in his chest, which were shifting to become more flat and wider, vertically aligned to his body.

At the same time Darius shouted Draven's name and all the Raedsel charged, Talon simply said, "Goodbye."  
And then he contracted his Pectoral muscles, pulling his elbows and the blades in a vicious outward motion. Draven uttered a gurgling noise as his rib-cage was torn open, each side of the ribcage swinging outward like a door as Draven's innards spilled outside with a sickening squelching noise. By the time the Raedsel was upon Talon, he had already been covered in the black material, which seemed to be alive. It wasn't even liquid. It was like Darkness itself had become a part of Talon. Talon spun around, releasing 5 large shurikens that were as black as he was. The shurikens tore through the Raedsel without losing speed, ricocheting off the walls. It seemed physically impossible, but even as Darius watched, the shurikens bounced and hit off the walls, always retaining the high speed and cutting the elite Raedsel to pieces while Talon simply stood in the middle of the bloodbath. The blood that splattered on Talon simply disappeared, not staining him in the slightest. The shurikens came back to Talon as he caught them deftly, returning to a neutral standing stance. Darius gritted his teeth in rage, gripping his Axe tightly. "You… You must be Nocturne." Darius said, his teeth bared in feral anger.

"Good guess, Hand of Noxus. But currently, it would be wrong to call me either Nocturne or Talon… As I am neither completely those two." Talon/Nocturne said, raising his right hand. His signature blade formed on his right hand, made of the darkness that covered him. "Telling you will be useless, as you will die… However. " Talon looked over to one of the Raedsel who was leaning against a wall. The man was still alive, having lost a leg. "I am… The Blade's Darkness." He said, as Darius took advantage of Talon looking away. Charging, the huge man jumped up, bringing his blade back over his head to deliver the killing blow. Talon, however, slashed upwards with his right hand, catching Darius's powerful strike without even twitching. The force travelled down and cracked the floor, but The Blade's Darkness didn't even move. Darius gaped at him as he slowly turned his covered face towards the man, two blue V's staring at the man, similar to the V's of Talon's Crimson Elite helmet. Talon relaxed on his right arm for moment before slashing upwards again, and the blade of Darius' signature axe fell into pieces around Talon. Darius uttered a feral growl as he dropped the useless weapon and lunged at Talon, arms outstretched. Talon's blade instantly retracted into his body, and he caught both Darius' arms, right in the middle of his forearms.

"Well well well, you seem to be doing mighty fine on your own…" Talon said, holding Darius' massive muscular arms without a single sign of effort, while Darius seemed to be straining to either get out of Talon's grip or to reach to Talon's head. "Guess you won't be needing a hand." Talon said, as he pulled outwards viciously, tearing Darius' arms off as the man howled, blood spurting out of the ragged, torn stumps of his shoulders. The torn ligaments and tendons that connected the arm bones to the shoulder bones hung loosely as Talon dropped both of the large arms by his sides.  
"I should've said two hands." Talon said, uttering a small hiss of laughter although the mask over his face made him seem emotionless. Darius fell to his knees as Talon put both of his hands on both sides of the larger man's head.

"Don't worry. You won't die." Talon said in a voice that was colder than the death that Darius felt creeping up his body. And then, Talon suddenly wrenched Darius' head right, then left, then pulled his head right off of Darius' neck, the flesh tearing with a sickening noise as what blood was left spurted out of the torn arteries in the neck. Talon held Darius' head in his hands, looking at it before saying, "I lied."

Dropping the man's head, he looked over to see that the Raedsel who had been alive had already vomited and passed out. Walking over to the man, Talon opened the man's eyes while his black helmet/mask receded from his eyes, uncovering it…

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**Is he gonna kill this survivor? Is he gonna stare into his soul? Or is he gonna force this man to watch cat porn? Let us find out next chapter!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey there faithful readers. First off, I'd like to thank everyone who's reviewed my story.**

**In no definite order; ****Nightbreed6, TehDARKTemplar, 1, anon, 4ssassin, Anon, Guest, That guy, Guest, Stolenwarpig, Lord of t3h ring, Talon Tyler, XBubbaz, Sir ShamanSushi DragonPaprika, Just a person and Dude.**

******Secondly, I'm back from my trip to Thailand! 10 days is a long time, and I've enjoyed myself alot. Sadly, I found no Garena Shell cards there to buy for my LoL account so I guess I'm gonna be stuck without skins for some time. Woe is me. :c**

Anyway, hope you like the chapter, this one is going to be filled with plot, a bit of humor and some action. Also, bonus points if you can find Evelyn in this chapter.

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**Wings of the Raven**

**Chapter 4 – Darkness Incarnate**

Talon was standing in nothingness. Or perhaps it was oblivion. Maybe both, as they were one and the same. Yet, they weren't. Nevertheless, Talon found himself simply standing on black. There was no floor. There were no walls. There was no roof. There was no room nor any outside. Just darkness. And infront of him, stood Talon.

But there was differences inbetween the Talons. One had brown hair, white slightly tanned skin with chocolate brown eyes. The other one had black hair, with a pale white face and icy blue eyes. Whereas the former was staring coldly at the doppelganger, the latter was smirking with malice.  
"I thought I was hallucinating. That it was just a nightmare." Talon said in a low, serious voice.

"Oh, but it is a nightmare." The Other Talon said, grinning in a way that made him seem almost insane yet sinister.

"So you are Nocturne." Talon said, flexing his fingers. Neither of them had weapons. Well, to be specific, neither even knew what they had. Were they even clothed? It was impossible to tell. They could only focus on each other's faces and the rest was not of importance.

"Indeed. Although, right now, I'm you." Nocturne said, his face drastically changing into mock surprise. "Or are you me?" He asked, his mouth open. It seemed that Nocturne loved the novelty of having a face to express emotions with. This just made him even more creepy.

"What are you doing, Nocturne?" Talon asked coldly, not affected by Nocturne's behaviors. Nocturne began walking in a circle around Talon. "I'm simply doing what I'm supposed to do. Kill everything!" He said, grinning again as he walked. Suddenly, however, Talon saw that Nocturne, who was still walking in a circle around him, was upside down. But neither of their hair was being pulled by gravity, so it was impossible to tell who was upside down and who was right side up. Nocturne stopped infront of Talon, looking directly at him, his eye level with Talon's eyes even though he was standing upside down (Right-side up?).

"I'm sure you know, Talon, because you are quite a smart person. I live and thrive on fear and darkness. Where it is dark, I am strongest!" Nocturne said the last word loudly, the voice belonging to Talon albeit a distorted, much more colder voice with a background vibe like the echoing hiss of steam. "When people tremble in fear at me, when people scream as I rip their innards out and show it to them, that is when I savor my existence." Nocturne said in a much lower and sinister voice.

"I am Fear, Talon. I am darkness. Remember this well. You are my vessel, but also my prison. I will do everything in my power to take over. Your assassin's mind is a very calm and resolute mind, and therefore, it is like a wall against my power. But every time I find a crack in your defences…" Nocturne said, holding up a hand. He was suddenly right-side up again (Upside down?), aligned with Talon. An image came upon his raised hand. An image of a certain red head. "As soon as you reveal your deepest weakness, Talon… I will seize it. And I will destroy you with this weakness." Nocturne said, closing his fist as he caused the image to disintegrate.

And suddenly, Talon's eyes opened. He was standing in a familiar room. It was Katarina's room. He seemed to have entered through the window. He inspected himself to find not even one mark or stain, except for his leg, where his pant was torn at the calf and stained dark red with dried blood. His calf, however, showed no sign of injury. As Talon fathomed his recent mental encounter with Nocturne, the bathroom door opened and Katarina stepped out, humming to herself lowly. She turned around, wearing nothing but a towel, and saw Talon. Both of them stared at each other for a few seconds before all hell broke loose.

Swain was impossibly still and silent. This was more frightening than if Swain was to throw everything on the floor and scream in rage. The Survivor Raedsel was cowering infront of the general. "So you say that this 'Being of Darkness' came from out of nowhere and simply massacred everyone except you and Talon? Everyone that includes one of the two best soldiers Noxus has ever seen?" Swain asked in a very calm voice. The soldier just nodded, working hard not to tremble visibly.

Swain narrowed his eyes as he then said, "Very well then… You're dismissed." He said, as the Raedsel sighed in relief. His relief was short lived, however, as Swain's unique Raven suddenly swooped down from the high ceiling, attacking the man.  
"Permanently." Swain added. The screams of the man echoed in the room as the Raven viciously tore his face open, managing to insert it's beak and tear one eye out, the optic nerve fibers tearing as it pulled while the man thrashed around. Finally, the man fell down, convulsing and twitching as the Raven began feasting on the man's face. Swain, meanwhile, paced around the room. _'Damn that Nocturne. He was supposed to owe his allegiance to me! Not to that Du Couteau servant Talon. He wasn't even supposed to fucking survive in the first place!? Who knew that Nocturne would spare a man who could destroy him?' _Swain ground his teeth together, hobbling around his room. _'Where did I go wrong… Talon was supposed to free Nocturne unknowingly and Nocturne was supposed to kill Talon and everyone around him. Then Nocturne was supposed to find out who ordered his prison break! That would lead him to me and then I could use him as my greatest weapon!'_ Swain paused, looking at a small table set at the corner of the room. There was a small bracelet there, with a purple jewel embedded into it. _'Fine… Next time It makes it's appearance, I'll forcibly seal it. Then I'll have it kill Talon and the brats of that Du Couteau. As long as they are still alive, I will never be able to claim Du Couteau's soldiers, who are blindly loyal to that old fool, and his possessions…'_

Talon was sitting on the bed, cradling his stomach with his left hand while he massaged his jaw with his right hand. Katarina was glowering at him, dressed appropriately in a black buttoned-up shirt and a pair of white pants that reached down to her mid-calf. Her hair was still slightly damp. "You better have a pretty fucking fantastic explanation for sneaking into my room, you pervert." She said, venom in her voice.  
"Swain tried to have me killed." Talon said. Katarina was stunned for a few moments, her face losing all signs of anger and being replaced by shock as she then said mutely, "Well… I guess that is a pretty fucking fantastic explanation."  
"No shit." Talon muttered, clearing his throat to cover as Katarina raised an eyebrow. She sat down next to him as Talon told her how Swain had called him to the office and ambushed him with Draven and Darius. He debated on telling her about Nocturne, but she didn't have to know about that. Even if she was his greatest weakness, due to the feelings he had for her, she was his greatest strength as well. She was the reason he still fought so hard, the reason he could not lose or die. She needed him, as Marcus had left the responsibility of keeping her and her sister safe to him. He could not leave them. And if Katarina deserted him after finding out that a monster resided within him, how could he protect her? No, how could he find the determination to keep on fighting if despair fell over him at her loss? So he covered by telling her how he blacked out and then woke up to see that everyone had been massacred.

Katarina kept a pensive expression throughout Talon's story, her emerald eyes containing brooding anger within at Swain's betrayal. "Father never really trusted Swain…" Katarina muttered, as Talon silently looked outside, at the morning sun. _What are you planning, Nocturne…_

To Talon's horror, a voice at the back of his mind replied, '_Oh I think you know what I am planning…'_

The day passed by uneventfully as Talon meditated most of the day within his own room, trying to assert control over his body willfully. If he mustered enough willpower, he could easily control Nocturne as the being controlled him. Atleast, that's what he hoped. _'Possession or not, it is all in the mind. Learn to control the mind and you learn to control yourself.' _Talon thought, his eyes closed. A creak broke him out of his concentration. Everyone in the house knew which places creaked and which didn't… Talon instantly got up, putting his blade onto his forearm and grabbing a few daggers. He was wearing a loose black T-shirt and a Black pair of pants, so he had to fit the daggers into the belt hoops. He slowly edged his way to his door, opening it with utmost concentration so it didn't make any noises. He stepped out, looking around the hallway. The lamps lit the hallway in a bright yellow light, but Talon saw nothing out of the ordinary. And then, there was a loud Bang on the door. Like someone kicked it. Talon instantly ran to the staircase. Getting there, he saw that Katarina was already standing next to the door. She looked out of the peephole for a split second before retreating. "It's the Raedsel." She mouthed to Talon. Talon nodded and ran back to his room. It took him 5 minutes to come back out, dressed in his signature purple clothes. Katarina was still in a stance 10 ft from the door, watching as the door banged after every few seconds. They were ramming the door it seemed. "Where's Cas?" Talon asked.  
"She went out this afternoon. She's not back yet." Katarina answered, her eyes trained on the door. "Course of action?"

"We can't engage them. Too many of them and only two of us. I'm gonna guess they already took care of the Elites guarding this mansion. " Talon said, narrowing his eyes as he pulled his hood over his head. "Alright, so lets get out using the back door to the courtyard. We can then get to the stables and pull out of here."

"Sounds go-" Talon suddenly cut off in the middle of his speech as his eyes widened. Katarina looked curiously at him, eyes narrowing and then widening. Talon's eyes were covered, but Katarina could swear that she saw something…. Something bluish. Before another moment passed, the door broke open as several Raedsel guards ran in, brandishing spears and swords. They surrounded Katarina and Talon in an instant.

"Talon, you are here by sentenced to be executed on this spot for high treason. Katarina, you are to be arrested to await proper execution." One of the Captains said. Katarina tore her eyes away from Talon, rage rearing it's head inside of her. "On What charges!?" She demanded, Talon continuing to stand silently and still. "For being the daughter of Marcus Du Couteau." The Captain said with a sneer. "Although first, we might have a little fun with you!" One soldier said.

"YOU DARE SPEAK TO ME LIKE THAT IN MY OWN HOME!?" Katarina screamed, instantly drawing her two daggers and leaping into the fray. By the time the soldiers knew what was going on, Katarina had already spun and disemboweled 4 of the soldiers, her daggers cutting through their armor like butter. The four collapsed, their internal organs spilling out as Katarina disappeared with her amazing speed, appearing behind another soldier. She roundhouse kicked his head hard enough to create an audible snap, the man flying into his comrades, while Katarina threw her daggers up into the air. While the daggers spun upwards, She spun around while lowering herself into a crouch, reaching into her belt and throwing 5 daggers in all directions, each dagger hitting their marks as 3 of the targets fell dead, the other 2 wounded. She caught her daggers as they came down, engaging another soldier as he came at her with his sword. She decapitated him, flesh, arteries and bone parting around the blade of her dagger. But then, just as she spun around, a fist crashed into her stomach with bone-wracking force, sending her flying backwards into several soldiers, who quickly caught her and held her up, disarming her while she reeled from the strike. Coughing up blood, she looked up with fire in her eyes to see who had the strength to punch her like that.

It was none other than Singed, staring at her with malice in his eyes. "I'm not supposed to kill you here, Katarina… Grand General Swain ordered that you be brought in alive so you can be publicly humiliated." Singed said, taking out a small vial of clear liquid. Katarina tried struggling, but more and more Raedsel were holding her. Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw some kind of commotion going on where Talon was, sickening sounds emanating from his direction. She just hoped it wasn't him, but right now, she couldn't focus on him. Try as she might, she couldn't free herself as Singed walked towards her with the vial. "This won't hurt… Well, I think so. I'm honestly hoping that it does." He said, cackling sinisterly as he extended his long, skinny wrapped hand towards her face, the vial looming ever closer. Just as it came inches away from her face, she closed her eyes…

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**Cliff hanger! Dum dum duuuum.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Alright, first off, for everyone who's saying that Noctalon is OP, be assured, I have something in mind. So Have patience, and don't worry, he has his weaknesses. Hint: There is a similarity between each of the victims. People who can guess it will have my respect for being smart or just plain lucky.**

**Without further ado, here's the next chapter.  
**

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**Wings of the Raven**

**Chapter 5 – Fighting for Humanity**

**[Last chapter, we experience the battle from Katarina's point of view. Now, here's Talon's POV.]**

"Sounds go-" Talon choked on his words, suddenly becoming silent and still. While everything in reality happened around them, inside Talon's mind, he was back in the neverending Oblivion, facing down his spectral occupant who took his shape.

"Hmm? Why won't you hand over your body to me, Talon?" Nocturne said in his distorted voice, which resembled a mix of Talon's voice and Nocturne's voice.  
"I won't let you take over me anymore." Talon said, determined to not let Nocturne possess him. Not now. Not with present company.  
"Oh? You never wanted me to take over in the first place, yet, I did several times. What gives you reason to…." Nocturne trailed off, his eyes glittering maliciously. "Oh… I see. That woman." Nocturne said. Talon remained impassive, but since both were in the same mind frame, Nocturne could sense Talon's flare of emotion as Talon could sense Nocturne's amusement and bloodlust. "She is giving you strength. Like your Achilles heel, she's your root to your humanity… That means she is your weakness as well." Nocturne said, grinning in the freakish way he did. Talon got into his stance, even though he didn't possess any blade on him. "I will not let you harm her. Marcus Du Couteau left me to protect her and I will do so with my life." Talon said, as Nocturne cackled. "Is that it?! Is that the real reason you are fighting so strongly against me? Well Talon, you are lying to yourself. Lies weaken you…"

Back in Reality, A Raedsel charged Talon with a spear. Instantly, Talon raised his face, revealing his pale skin and frost blue eyes. The Raedsel's eyes widened and that was all Talon need to thrust his blade into the man. The Blade came out of the man's back, black in color, as the black spread all over Talon's body, encasing him in an armor of darkness. The soldiers hesitated, fear in their eyes. Talon's hood was the last to become covered in black, turning into a helmet of sorts, with Cyan V's in the place of his eyes, the color similar to his eyes. "Let me show you why you fear me." He said, as he raised his right hand and left hand together, crossing them over his chest so they formed an X, his wrists touching his shoulders. With eerie silence, Another blade, completely black in color, formed on Talon's left hand as well, exactly similar to his own blade. Slashing outwards with them, he vanished, reappearing behind a Raedsel. The unfortunate soldier had just enough time to see the two blades come out of his chest from behind him, before Talon pulled both blades outwards, tearing the man apart. The men's eyes widened, as Talon's eyes glowed more brightly. And then, he jumped into the group, massacring each man with impossible speed, merciless in his kills. Finally, as he got surrounded by the remaining soldiers, he spun around, his blade-cape suddenly elongating and slicing through each of the soldiers' midriffs, disemboweling them. A sickening squelching sound was produced as their intestines spilled out onto the floor, along with blood and bile and partially digested food. As the men fell, Talon looked over to see Singed approaching Katarina with a vial.

He froze, twitching slightly as he seemed to be struggling with something. "K…Kata… Katarina." He managed to say through clenched teeth. And then, suddenly with a burst of speed, he appeared next to her, grabbed Singed's wrist with his darkness covered hand, halting the vial. Everyone gaped at him, as they had not noticed his form before. Talon stared Singed squarely, even though the latter was taller, as they both struggled, Singed trying to wrest his hand out of Talon's grip and Talon keeping a hold on him. Nocturne's influence on Talon caused Talon to remain silent, slowly tilting his head slightly, making it look like it was no effort holding Singed. Fear sparked in Singed's eyes and that was all that was needed. Talon's eyes glowed vividly as he pulled Singed's arm down viciously, tearing the arm out of it's socket. Singed howled in pain, gripping his stump as he stumbled back. Two more moves and the soldiers holding Katarina were decapitated, or atleast, most of them were. Because of the height difference, some had their head's cut in two while some were cut at the collarbone. Talon turned towards Singed but the scientist had run out of the building.

_Kill…_

Talon became rigid, his head jerkily and slowly turning towards Katarina, who was still gaping at him like a fish out of water. He saw the terror in her eyes, and then Nocturne's influence was almost overwhelming…

"NO!" Talon managed to shout, jumping sideways towards the wall. Instead of slamming into the wall, Talon sunk into the shadows, disappearing from the location.

Katarina stared at where Talon, or what seemed to be Talon, disappeared. She took a few steps back, her heels hitting the bottom step of the staircase. She slowly sat down on the bottom few steps, still in shock at what just happened…

Far away, in a small temple bathed in the silvery light of the moon, a lone figure stood. Her platinum blond hair, seemingly silver in the moonlight, flowed freely in the wind as she stood silently, eyes closed. Infront of her, a wickedly curved blade was stabbed into the ground. It was a curious blade, as it was shaped like a crescent, glowing bright silver not because of the moonlight, but because it was emitting it's own light. The eyes of the woman opened, her silver eyes predatory with it's thin pupil, similar to a cat's.

"I sense you." She said in a serene voice, looking behind her, where the room was cast in darkness, the moonlight not reaching it. Slowly, she raised one hand towards it, her fingers clenching into a fist a moment later as she withdrew it. Without another word, she raised her right hand over the blade, which promptly flew out of the floor and into her hand. Turning around, she briskly walked away from the moonlight, with a destination in mind…

"Way to go, assassin. You saved your damsel." Nocturne said, smiling wickedly. No matter how much Talon saw Nocturne's new form, it still irked him that Nocturne was a copy of him, aside from the small differences. "Question is… For how long?" Nocturne whispered sinisterly, his eyes widening as his mouth split open into a maniacal grin.

"As long as it takes." Talon said, turning around and walking away towards… Well, nothing. That was all that was present here anyway. But it seemed to have worked, as Talon blinked to find out he was back in Reality. He was outside of Noxus, the great skull staring at him from a mile away or so. He groaned, trying to shift into a more comfortable position. Instead, he fell out of the tree he had climbed, falling onto the soft grass on his back. Hissing in pain, Talon lied there for a few moments, watched the nightsky as he waited for the pain to subside. He heard the grass crunching towards his right. Turning his head towards that direction, he saw a familiar face. "Riven." He said as Riven looked down at him.

"It's been long." She said, holding out a hand for him. Instead of taking it, Talon got up on his own, pulling his hood self-consciously forward. Riven withdrew her hand, with a small look of disappointment before her face became impassive again. "So, mind telling me what you were doing perching on a random tree a mile from Noxus?" She asked. Talon looked away from her, towards Noxus.

"Riven, do you know the quickest and safest way out of Noxus?" Talon asked. Riven was confused and was about to ask why before she realized that Talon never liked prolonging requirements. "Yes, I can show you." She answered.

"Good, take me there. I need to get in, pack up and get out." Talon answered, as Riven nodded. Without further delay, both of them began running towards Noxus at a fast but paced way.

Katarina didn't know what was going on or what the fuck just happened. But it was obvious that Swain wanted her dead, along with Talon and maybe Cassiopeia. Speaking of which, she wondered where her sister was. Wherever she was, she could sense/smell trouble. She'd probably have the intelligence to stay away if she saw that the mansion was taken over. Katarina was packing things into a small backpack, most of which were clothes, knives, daggers and essentials like food, water and gold. She paused, before walking over to her bedside end table. She withdrew an oddly shaped knife from it's drawer, before walking over to a bare section of her wall. There was a small stab-hole in the wall, into which she put the knife in. It fit like a key, which it probably was. A hidden key for a hidden door. The wall opened outward like a door, as she turned on the light inside. It was a small room, holding a small chest and some valuables. On the opposing the hidden door, Marcus Du Couteau's armor was mounted, the Du Couteau sigil still displayed proudly in the center-chest plate.

She looked at it longingly for a few seconds, before opening the small chest. Inside, there was another smaller box and a note, yellow with age. She opened the note, reading the small message inside which she had already read thousands of times.

'_Dear Katarina,_

_If anything ever happens to me, please keep this box safe. It is my most prized possession and I advise you to keep it with you at all times, especially if you ever find the need to flee your home. But more strongly, I advise you to not open it. Ever._

_Your Father,  
Marcus Du Couteau.'_

Staring at it, she folded it up and put it into her pocket. Taking the smaller box out of the chest, she walked back and put it into her bag before zipping it up. Turning around, she saw Talon standing at her doorstep, with a backpack already slung over his back. She was cautious of him, trying not to think about what happened when Singed had attacked.

"I know you have questions and I have answers. But right now, we need to go. Now." He said. Katarina gulped, eyes slightly wide, nodding. This was so different from the regular Katarina that Talon actually felt weird. She was usually determined and fearless, not cautious and surprised. But what Talon didn't know that Katarina wasn't afraid for her own safety… She was afraid of what was happening to Talon.

With both of their bags packed and ready, the duo departed through the back gate. Walking into the courtyard, they entered the secret latch built into the stone floor, which was there if they needed a quick and hidden getaway. They entered a small tunnel underneath the ground. It was a tight squeeze, so they had to go in single file. Talon was behind Katarina, and throughout all that had happened, he couldn't help but notice her butt. _Stay focused. 'On that ass.' _Talon's eyes narrowed slightly as Nocturne laughed within his mind. The being of darkness made no aggressive moves however, something that Talon was expecting. Soon enough, the path began to go upwards.

They came out through a wooden trapdoor inside a broken down house. The windows and doors were boarded up, so it was pretty much an abandoned house. There was, however, runes on the door. The place was imbued with magic, and the Du Couteau sigil was cut into the door. Talon pulled on the door, but he was unable to open it, as he suspected. "This door is bound so it can only be opened by someone of your bloodline." Talon said, as Katarina pulled the door open with no effort. It looked like it was boarded up, but none of the boards were attached to the wall. Only to the door were they nailed. Quickly stepping out, the duo continued on foot, sticking to the alleys and shadows as they walked. No one but the occasional street rat saw them, and the rats were smart enough to look the other way or wander in the other direction, to avoid the two assassins on the prowl.

Finally, Talon got to the small alleyway he had entered through. In the alley way, he pushed a large dumpster, moving it to reveal a small hole in the ground, an entrance into the sewerage. Katarina peered down the hole, her face contorting with disgust. Talon turned around, looking at one street rat who was watching them. Extracting a gold coin from his pocket, he dropped it to the ground. The rat nodded. "You can't be serious. I'm not going in there. No Way." Katarina said indignantly. Talon simply grabbed her shoulders and said, "Way."

With a small jump, he dropped down through the hole, which was large enough for them to both drop down. Surprisingly, it wasn't a long nor dangerous drop, both of them bending their knees on landing to absorb the force. Above, the dumpster was pushed back over the hole, the street boy keeping his end of the bargain.

"This is known as the Rat's pass. Beggars and thieves use this to move around the city without detection. But because of the smell, some call it the Rat's Ass." Talon said, walking north like he knew where he was going. He did. "There's an exit out of the city north of here. I've got someone waiting for me there."

Katarina stayed silent, following Talon through the maze like sewerage system. The smell was nauseating. After half an hour, they entered a large, circular room. The smell here was overwhelming. Katarina looked to the center of the room and she almost threw up. There was a pile of bodies, almost 20 ft high, in the center of the room. "Welcome to the Deadpool. This is where everyone who dies as experiments for Noxian science is dumped. Stay alert." Talon said, walking quickly around the room, sticking to the outer most path, away from the pile of bodies.

"Why the fuck do they drop bodies in here?" Katarina managed to say, covering her mouth and nose with a hand. A small noise made them both freeze, as they turned towards the sound. A large, misshapen being was crouched, half in the stinky water. It was large and hunched, easily 8 ft tall even with it's curved back. It was bony and emancipated looking, with disproportionately long arms, each ending with fingers that brandished long claws. The beast turned it's head to them, staring with blank eyesockets.

"Because not everything stays dead." Talon said. "Run!"

Riven was waiting outside the city, at the entrance into the Rat's Ass. If the hole in the alleyway in the city was the mouth, this was truly the asshole. A large pipe came out of the stone wall, built into the small cliff quite some distance away from the city. This was the pipe that would drain any excess water from the city's sewerage out, so the city didn't flood during storms. It wasn't easy keeping such a city unflooded, given the shape of the city…

Noxus was where she spent most of her life in. It was ironic how she would never return to it. Riven thought of her days in the Crimson Elite training with Talon, of how she crushed on him even though he only saw her as a comrade. At first, he was the silent, intimidating type. Riven thought of him to be just another one of the men too afraid to speak. But then, on their first sparring match, Talon had absolutely destroyed her, even though she was able to beat most of her sparring partners. It was since that day that Riven held a special spot for Talon. Even now, thinking about him brought a bittersweet feeling for her. Her reminiscence was cut short as she heard noises coming from the pipe. Looking at the darkness, she saw Talon running towards her. Then she saw Katarina behind her. And then, she saw the huge beast running after them. "HOLY FUCK!" Riven shouted, quickly pulling her blade out. She pulsed her magic power into it, causing the broken sword to reform into it's true, fixed self. Talon jumped out of the pipe, followed by Katarina. Right after the red head had crossed the danger-line, Riven swung her sword, uttering a small cry of effort. The beast, which lunged out, fell into two pieces as Riven's sword cut through it's torso. Riven's breathing slowly returned to normal from the sudden adrenaline rush of using her strongest move, while Talon and Katarina panted, sweaty and exhausted from running so much. "I told you to watch out for Rakes." Riven said, as Talon raised his head to look at her. "I did. Otherwise, we'd be in pieces."

"Never…" Katarina managed to say in a breathless voice. "Never… Again…" She said, gasping for breath. Riven straightened up, putting her blade back into it's place on her back as she said, "I've got 2 horses about 200 m away from here. Sorry Talon, I didn't know you were bringing another person."

Talon didn't mind, but Katarina had to turn around, acting as if she was looking up at the moon to hide her small blush. Riding a horse together would mean Talon and she would be close, and with their current sweaty state, they'd feel each other's heat… Urgh, the thoughts were maddening. Katarina's face turned more red as she shook her head to clear the thoughts.

But before they could begin to move, All three of the Noxians heard the snap of a branch being stepped on. All three of them turned their heads towards the noise, instantly poising themselves for battle. Instead of a battalion of soldiers, a lone figure came out. Her skin shone like an ethereal being, almost as white as her hair. Her silver eyes, glowing like the moon itself, stared at Talon.

"You…" She muttered, continuing to look at Talon with her piercing gaze, although both her tone and her face held disbelief. Katarina and Riven both turned around to look at Talon. Katarina's eyes widened as her hands flew to her daggers while Riven jumped back and drew her sword, saying, "WHAT THE FUCK!?"

Talon's eyes were frost blue and his hair was black, his skin pale white, almost marble in the silvery light. "We finally meet, Diana." He said, his voice sub-zero cold and emotionless, very different yet similar to the way Talon speaks although with an echoing backnoise. Diana only stared at Talon with slight disbelief, as the moon shone down upon them all…

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**Hope you liked the chapter.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey there guys and welcome back, once again, to my story!**

**Now, first off, I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed my story. I'm very pleased that everyone is expressing a majority of positivity about this story. Do Remember this, I take what you say in your reviews into account. They inspire me to write more as they give me the urge to write another chapter, to make you guys happy again. That, or my narcissistic personality just loves getting more and more compliments.**

**Now then, the story. Hope you all enjoy.**

**Also, here's a reference for Talon/Nocturne's black armor. It's not exactly like this, but similar. Fuse this with Crimson Elite Skin and you sort of get when I'm thinking, minus the swords and add a blade cape. : fs70/i/2012/352/d/3/shadowblade_suit_by_ **

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**Wings of the Raven**

**Chapter 6 – Eyes catching the moonlight.**

All 4 of the people in the small clearing next to the exit of the Rat's Ass stood stock still. Katarina was glancing from Talon to Diana, her hands gripping the handles of her daggers although she hadn't drawn them yet. Riven had already drawn her broken sword, eyes wide and alert, studying both Talon and Diana. Talon was staring at Diana with an impassive gaze, which Diana returned. She then looked at Katarina and then at Riven.

"What are you doing in the presence of these two, Nocturne?" Diana asked. At this, Katarina's eyes widened as she remembered something…

' _Talon looked distracted, like he was thinking of telling her something or not. "I don't remember much… I blacked out. And when I woke up, Darius and Draven were dead, along with the rest of the Raedsel. I just ran then. It's a rule for an assassin to never be caught on the scene of a crime, be It his own crimes or the crimes of others… I'm just surprised I was spared." He had said.'_

"You…" Katarina muttered, as Talon turned to face her, Nocturne's icy gaze chilling Katarina as it always did. "Yes, me." He said, as he then turned around to look at Diana again, "My host seems to have taken a liking to these two women." The Lunari tilted her head, studying Talon before she said, "I've awaited this day for long, Nocturne. I've missed you dearly."

Riven slowly backed away, her mind in a jumble. She dared not speak a word. Talon nodded slowly, speaking afterwards, "Indeed. But we'll have to converse another time, Diana. The Day approaches."

"A time unsuited to both of us…" Diana said, turning around as she walked back into the forest. At the edge, she turned her head to the side to look at Talon over the side of her head. With that last glance, she turned back towards the forest and walked away, the shadows soon taking her. Talon continued to stare at the place where Diana had vanished before he turned around to look at Katarina. "You will die… Soon enough." He said in a chilling voice, uttering a small laugh. The laugh died out, as Talon's knees suddenly buckled and he collapsed. Katarina stayed where she was, as did Riven, until they both witnessed Talon's appearance returning to normal. As Katarina quickly rushed to where Talon lay, Riven kept a cautious eye on them. "You have some serious explaining to do." She said, as Katarina checked to see if Talon was still alive. He was only unconscious, it seemed. "Honestly, I don't even know what the fuck is happening anymore. All I know is that Talon is the victim of this…" She said, her voice holding grudging anger, her eyes narrowing infinitesimally as she stared down at Talon's face.

A screech echo'd through the building as Swain tore out of his clothing, turning into the raven-like beast that was his true form. He slashed at the walls with his talons, destroyed the furniture and even slaughtered the two Raedsel who had accompanied them. Panting heavily, he slowly turned back into his human form, turning around to look at the hidden room inside the wall in Katarina's room. Marcus Du Couteau's armor hung on the wall, but the chest underneath it was empty. The thing Swain had come to look for, the item that held his future was gone. Swain stormed out of the room to find Singed standing there. The man's arm had been regrown, through what kind of wicked concoction, Swain didn't want to know.

"Get Warwick. I want him to hunt down that wretched girl. Tell him to take a squad of Arbiters with him." Swain said, as Singed nodded, silent. He had never seen Swain lose control like that, and the gleam in Singed's eyes showed that he liked this kind of Swain.

"As you say, Grand General." Singed said, turning around and walking off, leaving Swain to brood where he stood…

The daylight was shining down on the great citadel of Noxus as Cassiopeia witnessed the ransacking of her mansion from afar. She was at the city's edge and for so long, she'd evaded capture. But now, it was fruitless. Taking one last look at her abode, she turned around and skulked into the hole in the ground where she smelt Katarina and Talon's scent. She'd catch up with them. But it would take a while…

Katarina polishing and sharpening her throwing knives as she lounged against a tree on the ground. They had made some distance on the horses from Noxus, but most of the trip was spent with Talon leaning onto her back as they rode the horse. His warmth was foreign, as she had never been this close to a man other than her father before, and somehow, it felt welcome. She wanted to think of him as the Talon she knew, the man she treated as her comrade, her friend, her family. She didn't want to think about him as that black haired imposter, who was as different from Talon as one could get. It made her skin tingle to recall the memory.

Glancing over, she saw that Riven was asleep too. The poor girl was probably awake for most of her days, as she had no one to watch her back. Right now, she was sound asleep, her white hair loose instead of in it's usual tied up style. It was still short though as it reached down to the bottom of her neck.

Meanwhile, Riven was dreaming…

She was standing in nothingness, an oppressing darkness surrounding her in all directions. It seemed like it was almost a living thing. And then, something approached her. It was a dark silhouette, seemingly armored. Riven reached back to draw her sword, finding that it wasn't there. Surprised, she looked back to see the black figure standing there, a large arm blade extended from his arm… She swallowed hard, taking a cautious stance as the two blue V's suddenly glowed into existence on the figure's face. Instantly, as quick as a bullet, the figure dashed forward, and then, searing white pain went through Riven's body. Literally. The being's blade had run her through the stomach and out the back. And then, viciously, it was pulled back, revealing the blade to be serrated as blood spurted out of her wounds like a fountain, Riven uttering a bloodcurdling scream that was cut short by a gurgle of blood. She vomited blood and bile, falling down to her knees and hands as She looked down at her wound. She began retching again as soon as she did, as she could see her innards through the stab.

The man grabbed her by the hair, pulling her up with effortless ease as Riven continued screaming at the pain. Tears leaked out of the corner of her eyes as she wondered why she wasn't dead yet. The dark, armored figure drew back his blade and thrust it into Riven again. This time, it went through her solar plexus, her ribcage shattering as it went through her heart. Riven's mind went white with pain as her eyes rolled into the back of her head, her ears hearing nothing but a ringing noise. Blood was pouring out of her mouth and when the blade was pulled out, another gush of blood erupted out of her new wound.

But still, she wasn't dying. She was sobbing in pain and agony, her body twitching at the pain and injuries as the merciless assaulter dropped her to the ground. She lay there, her blood pouring out endlessly, as the figure stepped on her left arm, right on the biceps. She was unable to scream anymore, the agony worse than she ever faced, but still, a scream erupted out of her mouth, loud enough to tear her vocal cords as the dark being grabbed hold of her left arm at the wrist with his hand, crouching down to do so, and pulled the arm hard enough to tear it off at the shoulders. Torn flesh and sinew hung from her stump, which was now bleeding endlessly as well as Riven just lay there, whimpering, drowning in her own blood although she could not die. It was impossible for such pain to even exist… Why couldn't she wake up?

And wake up she did, screaming as she bolted upright. Katarina jumped up instantly and drew her blades, as did Talon, who instantly woke up, rolled to the right to dodge any attacks and got into a crouch stance. Both of them looked to Riven, Katarina looking shocked, Talon looking worse for wear but impassive as always, as Riven panted, cold sweat drenching her body. She raised her left hand, looking at it to make sure it was still there, and then patted her body, searching for any wounds. Nothing. And then, Riven broke down, crying hysterically while trembling violently. In an instant, Talon was there, crouching down next to Riven, who immediately flung her arms around him and cried into his shoulder. Talon was looking grim, an expression that was mirrored on Katarina's face. Riven continued sobbing into his shoulder, not knowing that it was Talon who had done her what she had dreamt unintentionally…

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**Yeeeeeah, I'm sorry for the small chapter folks. I'm a bit preoccupied. Anyway, hope you liked the chapter, please review your thoughts and anything you have to say. I welcome all kinds of reviews. The good. The bad. And the ugly. **

**Also, here's today's questions:  
What kind of Role does Diana play in the Talon/Nocturne thing?**

**What is Swain's plan?**

**What is in the box that Marcus Du Couteau left for Katarina?**

**What will happen to Cassiopeia?**

**How will Riven react when she see's The Blade's Darkness in it's true form?**

**When will Teemo be killed brutally?**

**Will Draven ever stop whining about Darius being a shitty support and noob?**

**Find out in the later chapters.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Without further ado, here's my next chapter. Also, dear readers, if you still haven't figured out how The Blade's Darkness is so strong, I will reveal a powerful hint next chapter.**

Enjoy.

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**Wings of the Raven**

**Chapter 7 – A lover lost.**

Lux was hyped. She was finally going to be meeting Ezreal as he came back to Demacia to visit her after such a long time on his travels. She couldn't wait to meet him. And as she waited at the gates, her bright blue eyes picked up the lone figure walking towards the city. Without waiting, Lux ran for the other blonde, who saw her coming. Grinning, Ezreal dropped his backpack and swooped forward with his Arcane Shift to catch her by surprise from behind, his arms wrapping around her waist as he pulled her off her feet and spun around with her. Losing his balance, though, he fell, both of them landing on the grass with a thump as they began laughing.

"Ezreal, you've gotten weaker. Haven't you been working out?" Lux asked jokingly, staring up at the sky. Ezreal continued grinning, staring at the sky as well. "I have. You're the one who's fatter." He said, earning a punch to the shoulder and a giggle from Lux. They both lied there for a few moments in silence, a watchful guard keeping an eye out so that no one snuck up on them since they were outside the city walls. Soon enough, Ezreal's face became mildly positive as he asked, "So… How is he?"

Lux's smile died a bit, although she tried to keep it on her face. It turned into a sad smile. "He hasn't been the same. He's out of the infirmary, but now he's doing all he can to find the thing that killed Xin."

Ezreal didn't speak for a few moments before saying, "You know, I kind of miss him, even though he was an O-Pee and annoying opponent in the league." He said, offering a small smile as Lux uttered a small laugh. She snuggled closer to Ezreal, burying the back of her head into his shoulder as her cheek rested against his chest. "Ez…"  
"Yeah Lux?"

"Could you please stay with me?" She asked.

Ezreal raised an eyebrow, his face growing concerned as he looked down at her. She looked frightened. "Why? What's wrong?"  
Lux looked away, as if in shame, although she was showing signs of fear. "I've been seeing some… vivid dreams as of late. It scares me… I worry about you, exploring dangerous places all alone. I don't want to be alone anymore. I don't want to be away from you…" She said, looking up at his face with eyes shining with worry and affection. Ezreal pulled her closer to him, his arm around her shoulder as he kissed her on the forehead. "Yeah. I'll stay with you Lux. I'll protect you from anything that goes bump in the night… Be it in your dreams or in reality." He said, his face slightly darker as he thought about what Quinn's bird, Valor, who had flown to him, had delivered a dangerous message, which is why he came back in the first place…

'_Nocturne has escaped. He's slaughtered the Du Couteaus, Talon, Darius and Draven. He's now fled Noxus and is on the loose. Keep her safe._

_-Quinn.'_

"I'll keep you safe, Lux…" Ezreal said absently, staring up at the sky, his mind lost in thought.

Deep in the forest, forest, sounds of battle was emanating from a clearing. A Fox paused, raising it's ears as it listened. Then, without warning, the bush infront of it suddenly moved, and a super fast blur jumped out, running impossibly fast. Right behind it, a huge figure jumped high into the air, roaring deafeningly as it caught the running figure, who turned around to face the pouncing beast. Both combatants met their blades against each other as The smaller, lean figure smirked, while the larger muscular beast growled in it's face. Then, a cry of effort sounded to their right as they both jumped back, pushing off from each other, to dodge a spear as it flew through the air where they had been moments ago.

It stabbed right through a tree as a third woman jumped into the clearing, all three of them forming a triangle, sizing each other up. They were similarly clad, each three wearing metallic armor not made of anything on the earth. The male was lean and muscular, his body seemingly built for speed. His left hand had claws where there should be nails, and his right hand held a long sword, serrated and deadly. He was wearing a helmet that covered most of his face except for his mouth, 6 glowing eyes on the face of the helmet.

The larger creature was not human, as parts of it's muscular body could be seen covered in a furry hide. It had a huge mane, most of it's mane tied into dreadlocks. It too, was wearing a helmet, with two eyes glowing yellow, it's mouth revealed to be feline with sharp teeth. The beast had a huge skull as it's right shoulder-guard and wielded a large serrated dagger in one hand, dual-bladed claws on the other with a spike made of bone on his right knee to make his kicks more deadly.

The last figure was a woman and her face alone was uncovered. She had a slim, attractive face with a green stripe running horizontally along her eyeline. Her eyes were, however, feline, with yellow irises and a slit-like pupil. She wore green armor that was revealing but covered vital spots of the body, her hands covered with metallic claw like gauntlets. Her hair was also pulled back into dreadlocks.

Grinning, the woman pulled a small cylinder from her waist. As she held it out infront of her, it extended into a spear similar to the one she had thrown moments ago. The man smirked while the lion-like beast chuckled. "Now are we going to see a real battle!?" The beast said, his voice deep and growly.  
"Can't you be less aggressive, Rengar? You jump into battles you don't know you can win." Master Yi said, spinning his sword deftly in his hands.

"That's Rengar for you. Brawns over brains." The woman paused as Rengar roared indignantly and Yi laughed. "Too bad you have speed over stones, Yi."

At this, the laughter died off of Master Yi's face faster than he could run as Rengar began laughing this time. "Aiya, Nidalee. Just because you choose to rut with him every night doesn't mean I'm stoneless." Master Yi said with a middlefinger raised at Rengar, who continued laughing heartily. But then, all 3 of them suddenly froze, and within moments, they turned to look at one direction, getting into a battle-ready stance. Slowly, small footsteps came. Then, emerged a man, limping towards them while leaning on a cane.

"Swain." Master Yi said, hatred on his hidden features as he began stepping forward, his blade thirsting revenge for his village, but Nidalee was there in a flash, holding a hand out to bar Yi. Rengar slowly walked up to Swain, his footsteps each creating a heavy, padded noise. He stopped infront of Swain, towering over him as he looked down upon the Noxian, who stood still, fearless in the face of the Headhunters.

"You've got a lot of courage coming here, Swain. And a lack of intelligence." Rengar said in his deep, growling voice, as Swain looked up at him without the slightest sign of fear.

"Rengar… I know you Headhunters are always looking for the perfect trophy, especially you." He said in a monotone voice as Rengar growled. "I'm listening…" The pridestalker said, as Swain continued. "This creature killed Xin Zhao, the Seneschal of Demacia. Draven, the Glorious Executioner. Darius, the Hand of Noxus. All three of them, he killed while outnumbered 50 to 1. He killed the two brothers together without even the slightest effort."

"You lie, Swain." Nidalee hissed. "There is no being capable of doing that. It's impossibly strong."

"It's Nocturne. He's free. And he's stronger than he ever was." Swain said, as Rengar's eyes glowed. "Interesting… And you want us to hunt him down? What's the catch, Noxian?" Rengar asked. At this, Swain smiled an eerie smile. "No catch. Simply kill."

Rengar laughed heartily, before snarling as he turned around at his comrades. "Headhunters. To the hunt!" He Roared as Nidalee turned into a 4 legged beast, pouncing ahead. Master Yi glared at Swain with distaste before he too blurred away with speed. Rengar, turning around to face Swain, said, "Remember, Noxian. You have your own spot on my trophy wall."

"That is if you can kill me." Swain said as Rengar chuckled, turning around as he disappeared, his cloak appearing, leaving Swain alone in the midst of the jungle. Swain just chuckled as his bird, Beatrice, flew down from the sky to land on his shoulder.

Night was fast approaching as Riven trotted up to the top of a grassy hill on her horse, closely followed by Katarina and Talon. Talon was infront, so Katarina was pressed against his back. He was awkwardly aware of how her chest felt against his back, even though this wasn't really the time to think about that. Focus Talon.

Inside his mind, he heard a sinister chuckle. He ignored it as they peered far at a distant village. Riven pointed. "There. That's a free city, meaning it's not affiliated with any factions. It should be safe enough."

"How long till we get there?" Talon asked. "About a day." Riven said, her eyes looking at Talon with conflicting emotions before turning back to look at the city.

Katarina nodded, saying in a drowsy voice, "Lets keep on… moving then…"

"No." Talon said. "You need rest Katarina. You haven't slept yet. The horses need rest too." Talon said, patting his horse, which closed it's eyes momentarily, enjoying his pat.

"He's right. You need the rest." Riven said.

"Do not worry. The moon protects all under it's gaze." Came a new but familiar voice. As they all turned around, the first rays of moonlight illuminated a part of the forest they had just left. Diana was standing there, dressed in a simple dress of silver-blue. It left her arms uncovered, with a scarf curling around her elbows and going behind her neck. It was a toga, or a greek dress. Her hair, usually bound up with armor, was loose, falling behind her in beautiful pale blond waves that was almost silver in the moonlight. Her face seemed serenely impassive, though her eyes still held an icy coldness.

Talon stared at her, his face giving no emotions away as Diana looked at the two females before looking at Talon. "I know you have questions, Assassin. Let us take first watch and I'll be happy to answer them." She said, as Talon continued staring at her.

"Don't. It's fine." Katarina said, but Talon nodded at Diana. Dismounting, he looked at Katarina, who was glowering at him for making such a foolish move, and said, "If anything happens, I want you to run a blade through me and get away as quickly as you can." He then turned around and walked towards Diana, who was waiting at the edge of the forest, while Riven tied her horse to a nearby tree, pouring some water into a small bowl she kept to allow the horse to drink. Katarina led her horse to the same place and tied it there, before beginning to set up camp with Riven, a searing thought in her mind. She wondered if Talon made the right choice in going with Diana alone.

Diana and Talon walked at a normal pace through the forest around them, setting up a perimeter around their camp site. Soon enough, they came upon a clearing with a large pond. The pond reflected moonlight in a silvery, surreal way. Talon's eyes gazed at it in a mildly appreciative way.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Diana said, looking up at the moon. "Tell me Diana." Talon said, straight to the point.

"What do you want to know, Shadowed One?" She asked, as Talon looked at her, his eyes hidden by his cowl. "Everything."

Diana continued to gaze at the moon, her silvery eyes reflected the moonlight as it shone down upon her, beginning to say, "They called me a heretic. I showed them what was right infront of them but they were blind to the truth. They betrayed me and deserted me. Ever since that day, I've been seeking revenge." Diana said simply. Talon, quick as he was, narrowed his eyes. "So this is a game of revenge? Nocturne wants revenge on the world and you want revenge on yours?"

Diana simply smirked before saying, "You are close to the answer, Talon, but you do not see it yet."

"Then show me." Talon said, his eyes dark as they narrowed upon Diana. Diana looked at Talon, cocking her head to the side a bit. "You see Talon, there are champions who symbolize something. Each of these symbols wield a certain symbol of power. I symbolize the moon. Leona symbolizes the sun. Nocturne symbolizes darkness, when there is no moon nor sun. There are many others out there who symbolize a specific aspect. But many of us were wronged. Nocturne does not wish for revenge upon the world. He wishes to be free. And to be free, he must kill the summoners and anyone who gets in his way. The summoners bind him to this realm in this hideous form."

"Then why do you aid him? What do you gain from this." Talon asked, his voice edged with venom. He was sure that the woman had some sinister plans in mind. Instead, Diana looked at him, before suddenly leaning close. Their faces were inches apart, his breath mixing with hers as he froze. "I simply get back someone I lost long ago." Diana said in a longing voice. "There was once a time when Nocturne wasn't such a being. He too had a complete form with arms and legs, similar to the way he looks now." She said mournfully, her silver eyes burning into Talon's eyes. He saw deep emotions buried within that icy stare. Diana actually cared about someone. She was doing this selflessly.

Diana pulled away, looking back at the moon. "We've lingered too long. Let us continue our watch." She said, dismissing the matter as Talon tried to get his shifting mind of thoughts to quiet and organize. For once, Nocturne was silent.

* * *

**Do not worry, fellow readers. Teemo will die soon enough. He'll die painfully. MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!**

**Anyway, I'm sure most of you can figure out now that the plot is much deeper than it seems and we're just skimming the surface. Yes, I threw in a bit of DianaxTalon there although it was probably DianaxNocturne. I've also begun to include more characters, especially those who will play vital roles.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey guys and welcome to a new chapter of WotR. Now, here's the massive hint you have been waiting for to learn why Nocturne is OP. The only two people to have figured it out is TehDARKTemplar and Lord of t3h ring.**

**Hint: The first letters of chapters 5,6,7 and 8.**

**Also, there is a lemon in this chapter so, Perverts be ready and Vanillas skip the part. Enjoy.**

**Also, I've been trying to do transitions with shift+8 but they don't seem to appear. So I'll do it with line breaks.**

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**Wings of the Raven **

**Chapter 8 – Revelations**

It was dark. Too dark. She wasn't used to such darkness. She reached for the light within her, but she failed to bring it out. She was scared. Afraid. And then, infront of her, an orb of yellow light appeared. It glowed, and she covered her eyes from it's light until her irises adjusted. It was a simple ball of floating light. She was unaware of what she was supposed to do with it. A silver light appeared to her right and she turned around, looking at a crescent like sword. Wait a minute. That sword was familiar. It belonged to another champion of the league.

Before she could answer her own question, a golden light began to glow to her left and she turned to see a very large shield, ornately decorated in yellow and dark red. It had a small circular area on top which glowed like it contained a miniature sun. She was unsure of what was happening. There was light and the sun to her front and left. The silvery light belonged to the moon, which was on her right…

With slight dread in her heart, she slowly turned around and as she did, she saw nothing but blackness behind her. She sighed a breath of relief. She blinked. And came face to face with a pair of icy blue eyes.

Her scream woke atleast half the people in the castle as Lux sat up instantly. Ezreal was up in an instant, quickly grabbing Lux and bringing her close to him protectively as he looked around for the threat. When there was no threat and Lux began crying into him, trembling, Ezreal eased up, pulling her into a better, more comfortable embrace as he let Lux cry into his chest, wondering if she truly saw what he thinks he saw. If she did… Things were just gonna get worse.

* * *

Diana had gone to pray to the moon, mainly because Katarina was refusing to sleep and insisted on patrolling. Riven was fast asleep, sleeping in a way that made her seem like she couldn't care less. That left her in a very unladylike pose and Talon had to work hard to not look at her. So, here he was, wandering the forest with Katarina.

"So… What did you two talk about?" Katarina asked. Talon didn't look at her, simply saying "Just some stuff."

Katarina snapped. Stopping, she suddenly brought her arm forward and then backwards, elbowing Talon in the stomach hard. As Talon doubled over from the sudden assault, Katarina spun, shoving her arm lengthwise at Talon's collar bone, pushing him against a tree as she held her arm against him.

"Stop fucking with me Talon." Katarina said in an angry voice, her green eyes almost glowing with anger. "I want to help whatever the fuck you're going through, whether you like it or not. We're family. If you keep shooting me the fuck down whenever I want information just to protect me from some horrific truth, then you can go fuck yourself. When I want answers, I damn well expect answers. Not some fucking excuse or lie." She practically snarled at him. Talon's eyes were slightly wide with surprise as he looked at her. For a few moments, the two stayed like that, their eyes sharing electricity inbetween them as their bodies pushed against each other, their breaths intermingling. Talon smelled a combination of sweat, cologne and, well, Talon. It was intoxicating.

And before either of them knew it, they were kissing. Lips against each other, their kiss gained passion and fervor quick, both of them becoming aggressive. Talon grabbed Katarina by her shoulders, pushing her against a tree so that he was dominant. Katarina dug her nails into his back, pulling him closer as she heard the low growl in his throat. Her body felt heated, further warmed by the heat radiating from Talon's body in it's close proximity. She felt his hard muscles against her soft chest and fuck, it felt good.

Talon himself was getting riled up. Never had his emotions been in such a high. Right now, even Nocturne was nowhere to be found within him. His tongue aggressively explored Katarina's mouth, wrestling with her tongue in kind of warm, wet battle. His hands snaked down to grab her butt, both hands squeezing both cheeks as he let out another growl. The feeling of her soft flesh being squeezed, bulging out through the gaps inbetween his fingers, was enough to make even Katarina growl. They finally broke apart, both gasping heavily as Katarina stared at his chocolate brown eyes with her own emerald eyes. They could feel the electricity in the air, like lightning was about to hit.

Within a few moments, Talon had unclasped his cape and hood, letting them drop to the ground while he pulled his shirt off over his head. Katarina watched his muscular but lean body with desire hot in her eyes as Talon shook his long brown hair away from his eyes. He came close to Katarina, kissing her heavily again while his hands pulled her black jacket off of her, revealing her flawless, slightly flushed skin that was as smooth as porcelain. He fumbled with the zipper of her sports brassier on the back as Katarina uttered a triumphant sound into his mouth. She broke the kiss so she could bend her arms behind her back, grabbing the zipper and pulling it open. She let her brassiere fall to the floor while allowing herself a small smirk when she found Talon looking at them with enough intensity to burn a hole into the sun itself.

Talon snarled and suddenly, Katarina was pushed into the grassy ground, the trees offering them cover while Talon unbuckled his pants. Katarina did the same and in moments, both of the assassins found themselves bare. It was Talon's time to smirk, however, as Katarina blinked, looking at his manhood in slight surprise.

"Don't worry, you'll stretch too." He said as Katarina narrowed her eyes at him. "Guess I was right. You do carry that blade to overcompensate for something."

Talon smirked, knowing that Katarina simply said that to not let him get away with seeing her surprise. He lowered himself down to his knees, crawling over Katarina as he kissed her when his face came level to hers. His hands grasped her full C cup breasts, kneading them as Katarina moaned into his mouth. He lowered his mouth, kissing and nibbling at her neck as Katarina let out short breaths full of want.

"Oh… Yes, Talon…" She groaned as Talon closed his mouth onto one of her pink nipples, his tongue circling it. Katarina arched her back when he gently bit it, finding the right balance between pleasure and pain. Seeing that Katarina liked this, Talon used his other hand to pinch her other nipple while he bit down again. Katarina suddenly let out a moan, arching up and twitching rigidly before she suddenly relaxed, panting heavily. Talon smirked, saying, "Did you just…"

"Oh, Fuck you Talon." She managed to say, flashing a middle finger at him as Talon chuckled. "That's exactly what I think you're doing." He said as he positioned himself at her entrance. He felt her tense slightly as he looked into her green eyes. They were fierce, as always, filled with a burning passion for him. But he could see past that into the vulnerability she was now showing.

"Katarina… I know this is your first time. It's my first time too." He admitted, seeing Katarina's eyes widen slightly as her love for him deepened. "But we both know this is going to hurt you. If you want to stop, now's the time to call it off."

"Talon, I get stabbed and shot at for a living. How bad can this be…" Katarina said, grabbing Talon's shoulders as she pulled his face closer to hers, their hot breaths intermingling. "And I don't care, Talon… I'll take the world's greatest pain if it meant I could be with you."

Talon was stunned at her declaration of love for him, even more stunned by the fact that he felt the same way.

"Now fuck me." She said fiercely. Talon obliged, plunging into her. Both of them took a sharp intake of breath out of surprise. Talon groaned at her tightness while Katarina arched her back, her hands clenching into his shoulders, nails almost drawing blood as she clenched her teeth, eyes shut tightly as she adjusted to his width. She felt so whole, so complete, like she was missing a part of herself throughout her life that was now finally filled. It felt like a sharp, pinching pain as both of them felt the warm liquid flowing out amidst the fluids that already moistened her entrance, both of them knowing what it was. But this felt like a connection, both of them sharing their first times together and only strengthened their bond together. Katarina took a few steadying breaths before looking at Talon, her eyes trusting as she nodded. He nodded back, before he slowly began to move.

It was taking all of his willpower to not brutally thrust into her right then and there. She needed soft and slow right now. And so, he thrust into her slowly, slowly increasing his speed as she grew more accustomed to him. Within a few moments, he was thrusting fast and hard into her, Katarina moving her hips to meet him halfway as both of them panted, their eyes locked onto each other's eyes. Her legs locked around his hips, guiding him into her even harder as she clenched her hands into the ground, absorbing Talon's strong impacts. Katarina's heart was beating a million miles per minute. This was an even greater high than when she killed someone. This was the greatest feeling she had ever felt before. And then, Talon came down and bit down on one taut nipple again while grabbing the other breast with his hand. Katarina was pushed over the edge instantly. She let out a loud cry as her body rippled from the orgasm. The sudden convulsing movement of Katarina's inner walls caused Talon to groan as he experienced his own climax, thrusting into her a few last times hard until he stilled.

And then, he collapsed ontop of her, his body weight pressing down on her but she didn't mind. Instead, she enjoyed the feeling of his body pressed against hers. He was still inside of her and she felt warm… Complete.

The sun was shining when Katarina and Talon had made their way back to the base site. They had cleaned themselves at the small pond, washing off the smell of sex off their bodies before heading back. They didn't tell Riven that they had botched their patrol and there was a chance of her getting ambushed in her sleep while they were out having an intercourse. The thoughts came to both of them as they both glanced at each other. They both blushed while Riven glanced between them.

The Exile turned around so they wouldn't see the mix of emotions on Riven's face. Hurt. Acceptance. Pain. Guess Talon and her was never meant to be, although she now wistfully envied Katarina. It wasn't hard to tell that the two had probably become a couple overnight, although she didn't know about their little experience. Riven wished she hadn't passed out as soon as she lied down. She should've gone to patrol with Talon.

Diana was nowhere in sight, which was expected as the Sun was shining down on them right now.

Talon, however, was slightly unnerved with Nocturne's recent quietness lately. True, he was grateful that the being of darkness wasn't making death threats and trying to kill everything in sight right now, but he was still wary of why the being had a reason to lie so… dormant. It felt out of place, like he was looming over Talon like a silent assassin, waiting for the opportune moment to strike. Packing up, the three left their little site, heading out of the forest onto the plains as they looked forward to reaching the small city.

* * *

Teemo hummed to himself happily as he set about patrolling the perimeter of his city. Bandle City was a very nice place and Teemo loved to keep it nice. As he was walking around the jungle perimeter of his city, he heard rustling. Turning around, he squinted at the bushes as he wondered what made the noise. And then, suddenly, there was a roar as something materialized into sight above him.

With a beastial roar, Rengar landed on top of the small yordle, using one foot to crush the yordle into the ground although he didn't kill it yet. Instead, he leaned down and roared at Teemo, who had pissed his pants by this time and was screaming in fear.

"Not so tough without the League's magic strengthening you, Eh Badger!?" Rengar roared as Teemo cried out pleas of mercy, sobbing hysterically out of fear.

"Jesus Ionia, you're gonna kill the little shit out of fear, Rengar." Master Yi said, uncloaking as he appeared right next to Rengar, his blade resting on his shoulders as he looked down at the yordle.

Nidalee appeared out of her own cloak on the other side, her spear propped on the ground with it's point facing upwards.

"W-What do the headhunters want!? Please, let me live, I have a girlfriend and a fanclub and everything, PLEASE, I'M STILL A VIRGIN FOR GOD'S SAKE." Teemo sobbed out, as Rengar roared at the yordle, suddenly bringing his blade down. Teemo screamed in pain as one of his ears was cut clean off, Rengar missing on purpose although not missing the ear.

"I want your poisons, badger." Rengar snarled as Teemo nodded, whimpering. "You'll find all of my poisons and how to get them in my pack." He managed to say in his annoying high pitched voice.

"Ugh, can't we just fucking gut that piece of shit? His voice drives me crazy." Master Yi said, his teeth clenched in hate. Rengar bared his teeth in a grin, before saying, "Goodbye, badger."

Without giving him a chance to say anything, Rengar grabbed Teemo's head with his freehand, easily gripping the small furry head with his large hand. With a vicious tug, he tore the yordle's head clean off, tearing flesh and sinew as the neck tore. But the way Rengar had gripped the head, his pinky and thumb gripping the vertebrae just under the head, had caused the spin to tear out of the body as well, trailing under the skull of the now dead badger. Blood spewed out in spurts and bursts from the body as it pooled on the ground fairly fast. Master Yi chuckled as Nidalee remained impassive, Rengar raising his new trophy up to inspect it. With a growl, he crushed the head in his hands, causing bone fragments and brain matter to burst outwards along with blood like a small grenade. Yi jumped back before the gore hit him, saying, "What the fuck Rengar, I just cleaned my armor."

"Just looking at this head makes me mad." Rengar snarled, throwing the destroyed, mangled mush of fur and flesh aside as Yi walked over to the pack Teemo had. Nidalee's eyes flashed and she said, "Yi, Wai-"

Too late, as soon as Yi opened the pack, a string snapped and suddenly, noxious gas exploded out of the pack, hitting Yi square. All of the headhunters coughed as the poisonous gas filled the air, quickly retreating back into the jungle, cursing the small yordle for trapping his own bag.

* * *

Swain was in his Grand General's armor. Infront of him, there was three squads. The first one was led by Warwick. Behind him lay the famed Arbiter of Noxus and his squad of elite soldiers, the Midnight Blades. The Arbiter himself was a tall man dressed in complete black armor. He wielded a large black sword that could was as large as a claymore but could be wielded by the man easily in one hand. His face was covered by a mask that had two point at the side protruding upwards like cat ears, his black hair falling around it messily and spikily. The midnight blades were also dressed in full black armor. They were of varying shapes and sizes, some with bulky armor and great weapons, others with little armor and weapons like crossbows or daggers.

"Finally, the elites assemble. Now, I have an important mission for you all. Warwick." He turned to the wolf, who only stared at the General with his red eyes. "I want you to hunt down Leona, the Radiant Dawn. It should be easy, considering you never forget someone's scent."

Warwick let out a low growl of approval, muttering, "She smells like sunlight…"

Swain ignored the werewolf and turned to the Arbiter and his men, all of whom were standing silently. Swain was a man who was not intimidated by anyone and now wasn't any exception. But Swain was wary of the Arbiter, who was skilled enough to be a league champion but chose not to be.

"Arbiter, I want you to hunt down Lux Crownguard. She is in Demacia." Swain said. The Arbiter remained silent, as did his squad. "I want both targets brought alive. Warwick, make sure to bring Leona's shield." He said, his red eyes studying the two forces as his Raven, Beatrice, watched silently from it's perch nearby. "Dismissed."

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**As always, Read and review fans. Your reviews are what fuels me to write.**


	9. Chapter 9

******Hello again, dear readers, and welcome to another chapter of WotR. Now, I'm sure some of you might be wondering why I didn't give a disclaimer at the start of this story? Well, it's a fanfiction. It obviously is based off of an already existing story, so giving a disclaimer isn't really required, in my opinion.**

Also, some people are asking why Nocturne is so OP. Like I said before, read all the chapters and try to work it out like some of my readers have or simply write down the first letter of the headings of Chapter 5,6,7 and 8 and then figure it out. I give alot of subtle hints.

**Also, my dear readers, if you enjoy my writing, I have good news. I plan on beginning to write another fanfiction. This time, the story will be based upon Zed and Akali. It will be about Zed facing Akali in battle once and then, afterwards finding out he has some interest in her. At first, he believes it to be predatory interest since Akali is one of the ninja's who did not join his shadow's path. But soon enough, he begins to find out that he has some more... intimate feelings for the young woman. It's gonna be rated M for lemons and language, perhaps occasional blood and gore as well. Like the Idea?**

**Also, I'd like to thank everyone who's reviewed on this story. I never expected so many reviews to come pouring in and my views have crossed 4000 views! I'm just in shock and I wish I could thank every last one of you, but alas, I've lost track. So I'll just say it to all of you in general; Thank you for reading and reviewing my story.**

And Yes Sir ShamanSushi DragonPaprika, I actually did kill Teemo. You thought I was joking didn't you? Well HAHAHA, I KILLED HIM AND IT FELT BETTER THAN SEX [Not that I would know how that feels, but I can still take a wild guess.]

Pie6013, Tell. No one. Of what you know.

**Fangscythe, Fear not, Your wish will soon be granted.**

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**Special Thanks to TehDARKTemplar for being an awesome friend and an epic Alpha Reader.**

* * *

**Wings of the Raven**

**Chapter 9 – Fear the fearless**

**...**

**'''**

After perhaps travelling for days since they left Noxus, they had reached another town. It was a free city, meaning it wasn't controlled by any faction of Valoran. It had its own set of rules and travellers from all states were intermingling here in peace. Guards were stationed here and there, their gazes watchful while merchants were peddling their goods, advertising their products loudly to anyone who seemed interested. There were several bars, taverns and pubs all around and the weather had a nice feel to it, with a slightly cloudy sky and cool winds. All in all, it was a loud and cheerful place.

Talon, being the master assassin he was, instantly began studying all around him, seeing what an untrained eye would not. A bunch of people were standing in close clusters, here and there, whispering. Their quick glances at anyone that passed classified them as thieves, looking for the best target to drag into an alley and rob. People wearing fancy clothing were strutting about with several people in tow of them, no doubt they were nobles. And there were a very large number of people with weaponry who didn't seem to be guards. Mercenaries, Travellers, adventurers and the like.

Riven whispered to both him and Katarina, "Stay close and keep your hands close to your belongings."

That last part wasn't needed. Most people took one glance at the blade on Talon's arm and his bladed-cape, the huge, broken sword sheathed on Riven's back and Katarina's wide array of blades [The ones that were visible, anyway.] and instantly moved away, keeping their distance. _Good_, Talon Thought. _Saved us the trouble of having to deal with petty thieves._

"Have you been here before, Riven?" Katarina asked, glaring daggers at a man who had been looking her up and down appreciatively. The man blanched under her stare, turned around quickly to look away, causing him to run into a man holding a large cask of ale. The jar broke from the impact of the man running into it, causing both of the men to fall backwards, drenched, as the barkeeper, who was nearby, instantly came up right behind them to begin shouting at the man at fault. Katarina smirked as she turned her head forward, looking at Talon's back. Just as she did, memories of last night came back to her.

His warm body pressed against hers. Their breaths mixing together, forming some kind of unique intoxicating concoction. His eyes were gazing intensely at hers, staring right through her emerald eyes with his chocolate brown eyes. And just as she was imagining it, Talon's eyes turned an icy shade of blue, causing her to be brought harshly back to reality, her heart beating quickly, not out of love, but shock. She was getting losing her edge, becoming less alert about the real problem. Just because Nocturne hadn't shown himself for the past few days, she was beginning to forget about him. They were here to escape Swain and his clutches, but they still needed to find out a way to free Talon from the possession of Nocturne.

"Where are we heading?" Talon asked, his voice completely neutral, his eyes hidden by his bird-like hood. Riven smirked, saying, "I know a place here. C'mon, we can stay there."

…

"Uh… Maaaan, those were some funky shrooms, bro." Yi muttered, lying over Rengar's shoulder as he tried to separate hallucinations from reality, an effect given from Teemo's shrooms. He was failing, though, as he watched a cat with the body of a poptart flying into the sky, leaving behind a rainbow as it did. He had taken the full blast of the poison so he was experiencing all of the effects. Nidalee had procured some herbs to heal them of it, but Yi had retained some of the more potent symptoms. Rengar just growled, carrying Yi over one shoulder as they headed towards their destination. Nidalee was ahead of them in her Night stalker form, leading the way to Noxus. They had already crossed a distance that would've taken a normal human four days to cross.

"How much farther, Nidalee?" Rengar asked in his deep voice, pausing as his yellow eyes glowing through the helmet in annoyance at Yi's incoherent muttering. Nidalee turned her beastly face to him, snarling something in a creature-ish language. Rengar growled back, before continuing forward without saying anything else, Yi still draped over his back, muttering nonsense.

…

Slash, Thrust, Block, Spin, Slash, Kick. Pantheon skidded backwards as Leona kicked his shield as he raised it, but countered just as quickly by throwing his spear forward. Leona's eyes widened as she immediately jumped sideways and raised her shield. The spear deflected off the side of the shield and dug into the ground. Her eyes went back to Pantheon, widening even more in surprise as she saw him charge at her weaponless.

"SPARTA!" He roared, suddenly jumping up and transferring all his kinetic energy into a kick at Leona, who had raised her shield. Pantheon's strength was renowned due to his signature move, the Grand Skyfall, so this kick released was powerful enough to release a sonic boom when it landed on Leona's shield, sending Leona flying back, colliding hard with a tree. All of the breath was knocked out of Leona's lungs as she collided into the tree, before falling down to the ground on her knees. Her shield was steaming as it had absorbed most of the force Pantheon's kick had produced and was now releasing it as heat energy. The magical shield was infused with ancient magic that allowed it to do that, giving it the insane durability it was renowned for. It was also how Leona was able to harness the power of the sun into the shield. As Pantheon retrieved his spear and walked over to Leona, he said, "Giving up already, Leona?"

Leona smirked before proceeding to stand up, Pantheon watching her all the while as she got into a stance. "This is exactly what I like about you." Pantheon said as Leona brushed herself off, flexing her shoulders to get rid of the pain in her back.

They were in a small clearing of grass, their own personal training ground, flattened by the many hours they spent battling each other on it. It was far away from the village they resided in, far enough so that they could have some alone time together. Leona was wearing her regular armor, gold and purple in color. Her auburn hair was almost glowing orange in the waning light from the sunset. She was sweaty and she was a bit out of breath, but her athletically pretty face showed nothing but determination. Pantheon was in his usual garb as well, minus his cape, which he had hung on a tree before coming in to fight. He didn't wish to dirty it.

The two suddenly charged each other, Pantheon jumping at Leona with his shield raised while Leona charged Pantheon with her own shield raised, the shield suddenly glowing brightly. Their collision was shield-on-shield, a small 'boom' sounding as both of the combatants were blown backwards from the force, stunned by the collision. And then, suddenly, something else leapt out of the bush.

It was Warwick. Seizing the opportunity, Warwick had pounced out from his hiding place, howling as he tackled Pantheon, who was caught off guard as he fell backwards with Warwick on top of him. Like the savage beast he was, Warwick began mauling Pantheon, who roared in pain and effort, trying to raise his shield while his armor absorbed blow after blow. His armor couldn't hold up forever, and Warwick's metal claws began to shred it to pieces, and started to rend his flesh to ribbons. Warwick was striking with blazing speed, giving Pantheon's blood no time to pool before he made another slash.

With a loud thud Leona's shield collided with Warwick, who was shoved backwards, falling and rolling on the ground. Leona stood protectively over Pantheon, her eyes wide and alert, burning with fury while her heart raced. She looked down upon Pantheon, seeing him wounded badly. She felt fury build up like molten lava as she pointed her sword at Warwick, the clouds above suddenly beginning to spiral with their position below at the center. And then, as Leona cried out a battlecry, a beam of sunlight suddenly exploded down from the heavens, but at the last moment, Warwick recovered and pounced forward, stepping under Leona's raised sword.

As the sunlight crashed into the ground with an explosive sound, Warwick bit down on Leona's left shoulder, not allowing her to bring her shield around to block him. Leona cried out in pain, trying to slice Warwick with her sword but he was on top of her and her sword was too long to properly cut the werewolf at such close proximity. She was only managing to hit his back with the sword's guard while trying to cut Warwick's side. There wasn't enough force to cut through his fur, as the sword kept slipping off while Warwick ravaged her shoulder, blood spurting out as he did so.

Mustering up some strength, Leona kicked upwards, scoring a direct hit on Warwick's crotch. The werewolf let go to howl in pain, allowing Leona to shove him off of her while stumbling back, her left arm hanging limp. Her left shoulder guard was cracked and broken, the teeth having penetrated them, causing a lot of pieces to slowly break off and fall. The left side of her face was bloodied, as well as the left side of her body, the blood slowly dripping down her body from her ruined shoulder. She felt weak from the wound, unable to raise her left arm to shield herself. Warwick, on the other hand, seemed to be even angrier now, the scent of her blood driving him wild as he snarled and grunted and growled, circling her.

Warwick suddenly pounced and Leona instantly brought her sword forward, aiming to stab the beast as it came. But Warwick's senses were heightened by the scent of blood. They were in overdrive. He dodged the stab with insane reaction speed, the blade just managing to cut his shoulder before he collided with Leona, sending her onto the ground with him landing on top of her. He then began slashing at her mercilessly; Leona screamed in anguish as she felt her armor being torn to pieces, her body feeling like it was on fire from the pain. Her mind went white from the pain and then all was black…

…

They had been sitting at this table for a long time, as Riven hadn't yet come back from her conversation with the innkeeper. Talon was impassive as usual, but Katarina was bored beyond belief, her eyes glaring at anyone who passed by, the fingers of her left hand drumming on the table while her right hand clutched a glass of ice-cold lemonade. An assassin never let himself get intoxicated, or at least that's what Talon said when she wanted some good old fashioned whiskey.

Talon, although appearing to be patient and at ease, was edgy. His insides felt cold. Unnaturally cold. His mind felt… Well, the feeling was unexplainable, but it felt like Nocturne was making his presence known. He felt the nightmare's will pushing against his own. It was on full offense, forcing Talon to throw up a wall around his mind and thoughts to shield it. Nocturne was poking at every part of his wall, looking for an opening, however small. Talon refused to give him any ground.

Finally, Riven came out from the back room with the manager, who was a good looking woman with black hair and blue eyes. Eyes in the bar turned to them, most of which had been staring at Katarina when they had entered. Katarina's murderous stares, however, had made them all wither and look away. Now they stared none too surreptitiously at Riven and the woman as they made their way to Katarina and Talon.

"Katarina, Talon, may I introduce my good friend Rebecca. She's the owner of this cozy little inn." Riven said, smiling as Rebecca nodded to them, smiling as well. Katarina nodded back, while Talon just remained silent and still, focused on the war raging within him.

"Riven here doesn't really come visit us often, so I'm happy to help. You guys don't need to pay but I'm afraid I only have 2 rooms with a bed each." She said, as Riven studied Katarina and Talon's face for their reactions, her orange-red eyes inquisitive.

"We'll share a room, Katarina, us two girls." Riven said, but Katarina shook her head. "I can't leave Talon alone. Besides, we've been sleeping under the same roof for a long time. You've already done enough Riven, you deserve a good night's sleep." Katarina said, causing Riven to raise an eyebrow. Katarina usually never said anything that didn't favor her. A pang of pain inside Riven's chest area made her remember what she was thinking earlier about Katarina and Talon being together. Her face fell as Rebecca nodded, handing them their room keys. Katarina took one while Riven took the other, walking back to the bar with Rebecca. Katarina looked at Talon, who seemed to be distracted. She debated on stepping on his foot, but then remembered what he was going through. Perhaps Nocturne was acting up again? Katarina narrowed her eyes, watching Talon for the slightest change.

Before she could say anything, Talon suddenly stood up. "I need some air." He said, pulling his hood up to cover his face before briskly walking out of the inn, leaving Katarina surprised by his suddenness. "He- Wait!" She said, quickly running outside after him, but Talon was lost in the evening crowd. Katarina cursed as it was too dark to make out the features of the crowd of people all around her.

Talon ran for his life… Or, maybe, the lives of those around him. He could feel Nocturne roaring inside of his mind, slowly pouring into him. He was becoming distant. Running. Just a bit more…

With a final burst of speed, Talon exited the city and ran off into the darkness, just running. When he finally stopped and fell to his knees with a grunt of pain, he was in the plains, the city behind him. He growled in effort, trying to keep Nocturne back, but the being of darkness was pushing back with a vengeance. Then, Talon stopped making any sounds and stood up again. His eyes opened to reveal his icy blue irises and the first thing he saw was Diana, standing in front of him. She was wearing her ancient Lunari armor, her blade in her hand, as she stared at the hybrid, who stared back. The cold silence in-between them was almost cold enough to freeze the atmosphere.

"Diana." The Blade's Darkness said, Diana giving no response to him other than staring at him with her silver eyes and, after a long pause, muttering, "Nocturne."

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**I want some thoughts from you guys. I've been debating on doing a Talon/Nocturne x Diana Lemon, but I'm not sure how many of you would take it, especially the Talon x Katarina fans and the Diana x Whoever fans. So I want your thoughts on this matter before I decide. Remember my dear Readers, I take your thoughts and suggestions into account. You may find it hard to believe, but you all have an impact in directing the flow of this story, as I make it up on the fly.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hello my awesome readers, and once again, I welcome you to another chapter of my story. Now, before I begin, I have an awesome thing to share with you guys! My story has crossed a total of 6000 views!**

**Six Thousand! Do you know how sick that is!? I don't even know so many people [Actually I know less than 20 people well enough to call them friends lol. -Antisocial-] . I just want to take a moment and say, Thanks guys. Without your support, I'd be sitting here with a fail-of-a-story and nothing to do in my free time. You guys make all of this possible.**

**LEMON WARNING. LEMON WARNING. There is a Lemon in this chapter. Without Further ado...**

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**Special Thanks to TehDARKTemplar for being my Alpha-Reader and my very own Moon Moon. xD**

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**Wings of the Raven**

**Chapter 10: Bravery is just an image**

Diana stood her ground, staring at the Blade's Darkness, who stared right back at her. Neither was backing down, their gazes unflinching, but neutral as they gazed at each other.

Meanwhile, inside Talon's head, Talon cried out in pain as Nocturne kneed him in the stomach, following up with a strong punch to the jaw that sent Talon spinning. Talon fell to his knees, coughing on all fours in the dark oblivion of nothingness. Though he was kneeling on a surface, the blood coming out with his coughs seemed to fall in to an abyss, seemingly meeting no bottom as it disappeared in the darkness. Talon had a sudden feeling of vertigo, but he disregarded it and stood up. He smirked defiantly at Nocturne, inwardly wincing at the pain it caused.

"Hit me all you want, Nocturne. This is all in my mind. I know the weapons of the mind and I can simply ignore the pain you inflict." Talon said as Nocturne screamed at Talon in rage. He seemed demented as he grabbed Talon by the collar, raised him to his feet then continued to beat the living shit out of him. Finally, as Talon fell again, bloodied and bruised, Nocturne stood above him, breathing heavily, his eyes glowing with malice.

"You think your connection with that du Couteau girl will give you strength? You think it's unbreakable?" Nocturne hissed, grabbing Talon by his neck and raising him, leveling him with his face as Talon was forced to stare into the icy blue eyes of his doppelganger. "I. Will. Break you. I will make you detest yourself. I will make you feel unworthy of that woman. And, therefore, I will destroy the remnants of your humanity." Nocturne said, as Talon's eyes widened slightly as he processed what Nocturne was implying.

Back in reality, The Blade's Darkness tilted his head at Diana, before saying, "It's been a long time, Diana."

Diana nodded, relaxing slightly as she realized that Nocturne wasn't being aggressive. "It has." She said, looking down, before looking up to meet Nocturne's subzero blue eyes again. This time, there was some sort of emotion lurking in Diana's eyes. She was vulnerable.

"I've missed you, Nocturne." She said, as Nocturne stepped close to Diana. Diana lowered her head to the ground, staring at Nocturne's feet, which were almost touching her own. She could feel the heat of his body from his close proximity and could feel his breath washing over her as he tilted his head downwards. Then, gently, Nocturne's nose met Diana's forehead, and the two stayed like that for some time. Nocturne, although he had his usual evil and sadistic thoughts in mind, felt the smallest feeling of remorse and longing. he began to reminisce of the time when he had first met Diana when he had first guided her onto the path of darkness and shadow... When he had first begun to feel the pulls of affection for her…

"Diana… My time is limited. I don't know how long I can stay, but I want to spend it with you." Nocturne said in a very out-of-character tone, which actually held affection and caring in his voice. Inside of his mind, Talon was screaming at Nocturne to stop, trying to force his way back into control but Nocturne was skilled at shielding, both mentally and physically.

Diana looked up at Nocturne, her silver eyes shimmering, becoming human for once. She searched Nocturne's face for the slightest sign of deceit. She found none. Nocturne continued looking down at her with warmth in his eyes. It was so easy to feign affection like this. And then, slowly, the two figures leaned in… And their lips met.

Diana had expected Nocturne to be ice-cold. To her surprise, his skin had subtle warmth inside. While it was still cold, it was more like feeling the warmth from your blanket on a cold winter night rather than being drowned in ice. It was comforting. Their kiss deepened, as Nocturne's hands rested on Diana's waist, slowly going up to cup her face. Diana's own hands were on Nocturne's back, fingers gently clutching him through his clothing…

**…**

Ezreal was brushing his teeth with a dull expression, inspecting his own blue eyes. As he rinsed his mouth and face with water, he looked at the reflection of the small bathroom window in the mirror. Outside, there was only the dark blue of the night sky. It was a bright night, with the full moon shining down upon them. He exited the bathroom clothed in a pair of blue boxers and a loose white T-shirt. He was greeted by what can only be appropriately described as a 'glomp'. Lux hung onto his back, giggling as Ezreal looked to his right to kiss her gently. "Well well, aren't we happy today?" He said, grinning as Lux winked, responding with a small "Mmhmm!"

"My brother was finally announced fit-for-duty! He's back in command of the Dauntless Vanguard!" Lux said happily. Lux was wearing a baby-blue T-shirt that was a bit loose around the collar, leading to one of her shoulders being more exposed than the other. She was wearing pink pants that reached just past her knees. Ezreal spun around, making Lux fall into the bed with a small squeak. Ezreal laughed as he leaned in closer to the girl, both of them sharing another kiss with his beloved.

"Oooh, Minty. I like minty." Lux said as Ezreal's grin became smug. "I used your toothbrush." He said as Lux smirked as well. "Well I'm wearing your bra." Lux said as Ezreal raised an eyebrow.

"But I don- Oh…" Ezreal's eyes widened with revelation, looking as if he had discovered the answers to all the questions in the universe. Lux just facepalmed with a small smile. When she looked up again, Ezreal was looking at her seriously, love and worry in his eyes. "Do you really want to go through with this, Lux? I know it's your first time and I don't wanna force you." He said as Lux offered a small smile. "As long as it's with you." She said. The two leaned in to kiss ever so slowly, their lips almost millimeters apart… But then, Ezreal suddenly pulled away, quickly reaching for his gauntlet on the table. He put it on and stared at the door, all warmth gone, replaced with hostility. "Ez? What's wrong?" Lux said as Ezreal stared at the door. He raised his gauntlet, aiming it as the jewel flickered to life. A moment passed. Another moment passed.  
"Lux, close the win-" Before Ezreal could finish, the lights flickered off. Everything was thrown into darkness for a few seconds. As soon as the lights returned, Ezreal found himself surrounded by five soldiers, all dressed in all black armor. One had a thin sword at his neck. Another had his both of his palms barely touching Ezreal's neck and the left-side of his chest, next to his heart. A third was standing in front of Ezreal, just a bit to the side to barely stay out of Ezreal's line-of-fire, a crossbow aimed at his face. The last one was on Ezreal's right, opposite to the one holding the thin-blade to his neck. This one was holding a spear leveled with Ezreal's head. There was one final man who had his weapon sheathed. His infamous black sword and mask gave his Identity away. Ezreal narrowed his eyes and growled. "Arbiter."

The Arbiter remained silent as Lux gasped, her eyes wide at the sudden appearance of so many soldiers, her surprise heightened more so by the fact that these were the famous Midnight Blades. She quickly looked around for her staff, but stopped as she saw the Arbiter slowly walking towards her, spinning a small white wand around his right hand with his fingers. It was her staff. He stopped spinning it, holding it inbetween his forefinger, middle finger and thumb. A moment later, he snapped the wand, causing a small burst of light, sparks and white smoke to appear briefly. Lux backed up on the bed until her back hit the wall. She looked at Ezreal with worry in her eyes.

The one who held the crossbow slowly and cautiously reached for Ezreal's gauntlet. Ezreal growled, causing the soldier to freeze in his movements. Each of the weapons resting on Ezreal pressed harder against him, threatening him. "Ez. Don't." Lux said as Ezreal glanced at her out of the corner of her eyes. "I won't let them take you." He said with his teeth clenched.

"You knew we were coming?" The one with the crossbow, a woman by her voice, asked Lux. Lux nodded solemnly. "I saw flashes of it in my dreams… Ez. Don't. You'll die if you do." Ezreal narrowed his eyes, wanting to shoot each and every one of them with a mystic shot even if he died. The Arbiter stepped closer to Lux. "If you saw us coming, you probably know why we are here." He said. His voice was cold and silky, both refined and eerie. He extended a hand to Lux, who was trembling. She closed her eyes, composing herself before she took the Arbiter's hand and stood up.

The woman with the crossbow had grabbed Ezreal's gauntlet and pulled it off of him, throwing it to the ground, way out of his reach.

"Crow, get a visual. Berserker, hold him down." Arbiter said. Crow, the woman with the crossbow, whose mask was the standard silver color, like each of the Midnight blade's masks, nodded as she climbed onto the window sill and deftly disappeared upwards. Her mask resembled a bird in a way, with its slightly longer profile and the slanted visor, with her long black hair pulled into a pony tail. Berserker, the largest man there, shoved Ezreal down onto his knees with his spear as the other two Midnight Blades released Ezreal. His mask was bulky, similar to his armor, with a pronounced metal lower jaw that enclosed the mask and made it more like a helmet, his hair spiky and black. Lux's eyes were filled with unshed tears as they searched Ezreal's eyes, which held rage and self-loathing.

"Nightshade, take her away. Stryker, with Nightshade." The Arbiter continued, gently pushing Lux over to the lean black man with the hood covering his head, two gauntlets on his hands which had blades in them, no doubt. The one with the thin sword came up next to Nightshade, flanking Lux. His mask was sharp and elegant, with fluidly sharp ends, his black hair ending at the bottom of his neck. Nightshade's mask, however, was mostly hidden by his hood. It seemed to be half a mask, covering the bottom portion of his face, his eyes hidden by his hood.

Ezreal looked up at the Arbiter, who's mask was a bit catlike while roughly resembling the mask of the Crimson elites, albeit a monotone color of silver and gray. It was impossible to tell where the Arbiter saw through, as the mask seemed solid with no obvious area for his eyes. It was segmented vertically down it's front. His hair was black and longer than the other males in the Midnight Blades. It was spiky and most of it standing up at the back, slanted to the right as if the wind had blown it that way.

"You're a prodigal young man, aren't you?" He said, the cold tone of his voice chilling Ezreal. Before Ezreal could respond, he felt a heavy blow on the back of his head and then, all went black.

**…**

The silver armor lay discarded on the ground inside a small barn that was void of life except for the two who were currently occupying it. Next to the armor lay purple and black clothing, with an ornate blade resting on top. A curved silver blade was stuck into the ground next to both piles. Nearby, on a pile of hay flattened like a bed, lay two figures. Both were bare. The moon was soon uncovered, the clouds passing by, allowing the light to flood into the barn through the windows.

Diana took steadying breaths as she slowly took in Nocturne's full length into her. Her platinum blonde hair was unbound, falling around her face like a pale curtain. Her skin was as pale as Talon's skin currently was, making both individuals look like they were made of marble in the moonlight. Diana's silver eyes looked down intensely upon Nocturne's frost blue eyes, which stared up at her with equal intensity.

"I've missed this… So much… I'm finally complete." Diana said in a breathless, whispery voice, as gentle as the caress of the wind. Nocturne sat up, so that Diana was still straddling him but he was sitting upright, his face level with hers.

"I've waited for this as well, my love." Nocturne said. Inside of his mind, he could feel Talon's torment at this. The assassin was beginning to hate himself since he could not deny the pleasure his body was experiencing. Nocturne's plan was succeeding. His hands clasping Diana's soft rear, he helped her slowly rise… And then fall, as the woman gave a short sigh of pleasure.

"Nocturne…" She moaned his name, loving the way it rolled off her tongue like she was meant to say it. She slowly rose and fell, experiencing the ecstasy of finally being intimate with the man she loved. Their passion and primal instincts began taking over, causing Diana to increase her pace, Nocturne beginning to meet her halfway by thrusting his hips upward. Within moments, the sound of flesh slapping against flesh was louder than most sounds in the room, only surpassed by the sounds of utter bliss coming from the woman, as well as from the growls and groans of pleasure originating from Nocturne.

Suddenly, Diana was pushed down onto the ground, harder than she would've liked as she winced from the fleeting pain. But that was nothing compared to the sudden overload of her senses as Nocturne began pounding into her, his dominance breaking her will within seconds as she cried out in ecstasy. Her body convulsed from the shocks of her sudden orgasm, but Nocturne continued to pound away. Before she could even recover, Diana felt the tell-tale signs of another orgasm building up, much to her surprise. They were both covered in a slick layer of sweat as Nocturne felt himself reaching his limit. Inside of his mind, Talon had lost his cool, pleading with Nocturne to stop. But he would not. Not when he was this close to breaking Talon.

Nocturne leaned down, taking one taut nipple into his mouth, sucking it as his hand kneaded Diana's other breast none-too-gently. He bit down on the nipple, causing Diana to gasp in surprise, but released it before trailing kisses up her chest to her neck. Diana moaned, as her neck was one of her most sensitive spots. Nocturne, almost at his climax, suddenly bit down on Diana's neck, just barely drawing blood, as Diana let out another incoherent cry, her body trembling from her release. He found his release soon after, thrusting hard and deep a few more times before going still. He fell ontop of the woman, who wrapped her arms around him lovingly, both panting heavily. Diana's silver eyes met Nocturne's blue eyes, and for them, that moment lasted an eternity. At least, for one of them. For the other, it was a numb feeling, like something that had long been buried under layers and layers of nothingness had suddenly surfaced…

**…**

Swain limped through the hallway, a malicious glint in his eyes. The third squad, who he had sent for a more private reason, had returned with their objective achieved. His bird, Beatrice, cawed as if sensing it's master's excitement. Swain stopped outside a door guarded by three soldiers, the middle one looking as if he was higher in command than the other two.

"She's in here, Grand General." He said as Swain nodded. "Good job, Corporal." He said, as the Corporal bowed and opened the door, allowing Swain to enter. Inside, a woman was chained to the wall by her arms. Or at least, what seemed to be a woman. Her lower half was long and round, without any sign of a leg.

Cassiopeia groaned as she opened her eyes weakly to look at Swain, who was looking at her with triumph in his eyes. He held out a small letter, rolled up, to his bird. The Raven, as if knowing what to do, took it and flew out of the room and out the nearest window.

"You will be very useful, my dear." Swain said as Cassiopeia hissed at him. "You can go fuck yoursssself, Ssssswain." She snarled violently, as Swain raised an eyebrow. "Oh, I would fuck you, my dear. But alas, you have no legs to spread." Swain said with contempt, causing Cassiopeia to scream at him in anger, thrashing against her bonds. Before she could do more, Swain shoved a blindfold onto her face, quickly tying it up to prevent her from using her powers. She thrashed about as much as she could, but he succeeded. That didn't stop her from struggling though. Swain simply chuckled and sat down on the desk to his left, watching as Cassiopeia strained against her bonds. The soldiers were smart enough to tie her lower, serpentine body together so it looked like a rope that had been folded, tied together by another rope. Except, in this case, it was her snake-body tied by chains that weren't breaking under her movements. Swain simply smirked as he knew this was going to take some time. Luckily for him, he had all the time he would possibly need…

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**I'm sure some of you are wondering why there is no Katarina in this chapter. Well, my dear readers, rest assured. I have something in mind.**

**Since you've read the chapter, if you're upto this point, Please do Review. Kthnxbai.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Hey there dear readers and welcome back to another chapter of Wings of the Raven. This chapter is going to have some insight on the other characters and a pretty neat fight scene, so I hope you're ready for some action.**

**Also, some graphic scenes are ahead. No, not the sexually graphic scenes you perverts, the bloody-gory scenes. Reader Discretion is advis- Fuck it, just read it and be all "FUCK YEAH GORE."**

**Because that's how I am.**

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**This chapter was not alpha-read by anyone, so expect some minor mistakes as I'm too lazy to give it a readthrough, but I still wish to thank TehDARKTemplar for being my alpha-reader, a friend and for being an awesome friend. Hope you come back from your vacation soon enough, Darky~**

**Looking for a Beta/Alpha reader for my other story, The Shadow that Watches. For anyone wondering, an Alpha is able to suggest more changes to the story, even impacting the entire story if a part doesn't quite feel good the readers. Basically, if an Alpha doesn't like a particular part and presents a logical argument, he or she can change the chapter while a Beta can only fix and point out mistakes. Please contact me via PM if you wish to become a Beta/Alpha.**

**I would also like to thank pie6013 and Cynthia888 for taking the time to communicate and talk with me via the PMs. Thanks you two~**

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**Wings of the Raven**

**Chapter 11 : Hunting the Hunters**

Katarina was sitting on the bed of her room, impatiently waiting for Talon to return. It was already late at night and he hadn't come back yet. She was getting sick and tired of waiting. The room was quite bare, with wooden floors and walls, a manageable single bed and a bathroom. It also had a small table to keep things upon.

Finally, she growled in agitation, grabbing her daggers and putting them in their respective places on her body. She walked over to her door, opening it, almost tackling Riven who was on the other side of the door, hand raised to knock. Both of them looked at each other with worried gazes, silently agreeing as they both walked down the hallway. Briskly walking down the stairs, Riven said, "I'll check the outskirts, you check the city."

"Sounds good to me." Katarina said as the females exited the inn. They both looked at each other, nodding before walking off in different directions.

…

Talon was silent, paler than usual as he stared his counterpart down. Rage was bubbling inside of him, something that the Assassin never experienced before. His emotions had reached an all-time high and they were destroying his composure into pieces. Nocturne just grinned, saying, "You must admit, Talon, that Diana's ass feels way better than that red head's."

"YOU FUCKING BASTARD!" Talon screamed in rage, charging Nocturne. Suddenly, Nocturne screeched, seizing Talon's mind while his guard was completely down, leaving Talon alone in the oblivion of his mind. Nocturne was nowhere in sight, as Talon turned and twisted around to see if anything or anyone was around him… For the first time, he was completely alone in his own mind.

"And so, the Blade loses to its will to its shadow." Nocturne said as his eyes opened, revealing the icy blue irises. He sat up as Diana stirred next to him. They weren't sleeping, no. They had just been lying there, taking comfort in each other's presence. Diana looked up as Nocturne stood up and began to dress.

"What are you going to do now, Nocturne?" Diana asked, not bothering to cover herself as she watched him dress. As soon as he was dressed, the darkness began wrapping around him like a living thing again, forming his near-featureless armor. He was unmasked, however, as he turned around to smirk at Diana. "Me? Oh I'll just go destroy this fool's links to his humanity while he's still wandering around in his own emotions." He said, the darkness finally covering his head in the signature helmet, the two blue V-shaped slits glowing brightly as the helmet closed like futuristic machinery.

And with that, Nocturne departed, walking right into a shadowy wall as he simply disappeared into the shadows, leaving Diana to stare where he had vanished.

…

Back in Noxus, Swain was watching the snake-woman infront of him scream and writhe in agony with an eerie lack of emotion. He had gotten Singed to construct a small, simple apparatus that kept supplying Cassiopeia's body with a healing potion, through a small tube connected directly into the veins on both arms, to ensure a steady supply. Meanwhile, Swain's large raven, Beatrice, was helping itself to eating whatever parts of Cassiopeia it wanted. It pecked viciously, ripping strips off flesh and muscle off of Cassiopeia's stomach as she screamed at the top of her lungs, her innards being exposed. As soon as it occurred, however, the potion acted upon it, closing and healing the wound but the pain still remained.

"It's been 2 hours, my dear Prometheus." Swain said, tilting his head slightly as Beatrice savagely attacked one of Cassiopeia's breasts, twisting and turning its head as it pulled out a bunch of glands and flesh from the breast. Just as it tore the flesh off and began swallowing it, the breast healed itself as Cassiopeia made horrific noises that seemed impossible for a human being to make. Her head was thrown back, her entire body twitching and convulsing violently as she was tortured horribly, being mutilated and healed and mutilated and healed…

Beatrice paused, flapping its wings to hop up to the top of Cassiopeia's head, sitting down there as Swain tilted his head to the otherside, his red eyes watching her impassively. "Tell me where your sister and her bastard lover has gone."

Cassiopeia was sobbing horribly now, incoherent noises escaping her mouth as she managed to say, with great difficulty, "I.. I don't know… Oh god, I don't know please stop…"

Swain sighed, shaking his head as he looked to the side, where Singed was silently standing, watching his potions work on Cassiopeia with a sadistic gleam in his eyes.

"Singed, raise the dosage entering her per second." Swain said as Singed eagerly nodded, walking over to turn the knobs, the potion being poured into Cassiopeia's body at a faster rate now. Suddenly, Beatrice cawed as a flock of ravens flew out from behind Swain. They all began pecking and devouring at Cassiopeia at different locations as the girl's screams began anew, shaking and jerking violently enough to bang her head on the wall, her blindfold still tight upon her eyes, soaked with her tears.

"How long do you think she's gonna last, Grand General?" Singed asked, cackling in a way that obviously indicated that he enjoyed watching the woman get mutilated and tortured like this. He even stared appreciatively at her breasts, though they were being gouged and pecked and healed.

"As long as it takes." Swain said, as there was a knock upon the door. A guard from outside shouted, "Grand General, Warwick has returned with his quarry."

"Excellent." Swain said, turning around to walk out of the room, leaving Singed to oversee the torture of Cassiopeia. As a raven pecked flesh off of the bones from her biceps, Singed poked his finger into the wound, touching the bone as the flesh around his finger closed and healed. His finger, however, blocked the healing, causing even more excruciating pain as he pressed down upon her exposed bone.

Swain walked out to another room in the dungeons, following the trail of blood on the ground. Opening the door, he saw Warwick, dried blood caking his claws and fur, standing next to a crumpled heap on the ground. It was none other than Leona, bloodied and tattered, her clothes and armor nothing more than rags and shattered pieces now, exposing most of her body. She was horribly injured but alive.

"Did you bring her weapons?" Swain asked as Warwick nodded, giving a small growl of approval. He pointed to the floor next to Leona, where her shield and sword was lying. Swain's eyes twinkled with triumph as he said, "One artifact found… Now to find the rest."

Meanwhile, outside of the high command, a large blue bird was soaring, witnessing the torture of Cassiopeia with it's keen eyesight. Witnessing the same thing through a special bond was none other than the Demacian scout, Quinn. Her eyes widened as she instantly fell to all fours, retching out the contents of her stomach from witnessing such a horrific scene. A few moments later, Valor flew down, landing next to Quinn, nudging her with his beak in a worried way. He didn't like seeing her lose her stomach like this, so he knew she must be very disturbed.

Panting, Quinn wiped her mouth, stumbling back so her back hit the wall of the small room containing the stairwell that led up to this roof. She petted Valor gently, the gesture being familiar and soothing to both, as Quinn said, "What's going on… Talon disappeared with that red haired Du Couteau, Cassiopeia is being tortured horribly… There is something seriously bad going on, and I can bet it's got something to do with Talon…" She said, thinking of the assassin of Noxus. The two had a strange relation. Though they never met face to face, they had always spotted one spying on the other. They were rivals of sort, always stalking the other when they could and both getting caught by the other. This was always how it happened. Sure, Quinn would kill Talon if she got the chance, but he was one of those people that she both respected and feared. If he hadn't been a noxian, they could've been friends. Heck, maybe more than friends.

Eyes narrowed with dark thoughts, she let Valor perch on her gauntlet-covered hand before he spread his wings, affectionately brushing the tips of his feathers against Quinn's cheeks softly before flying off into the air. Quinn turned around as she began to head to the slums of Noxus. If Talon had indeed escaped the city, he would've used one of the lesser known paths…

…

Everything was a blur. A haze. Ezreal groaned, tasting dried blood in his mouth. He had cut his lip on his teeth when he had fallen to the ground, he guessed. The back of his head throbbed. His right hand felt naked without his trusty gauntlet. Slowly, reality seeped back into his mind as his eyes widened, vision clearing. He was on a horse, leaning on the back of someone. It was a woman, he guessed, from her soft back and slightly sweet smelling hair, although there was something hard and solid digging into his chest. As soon as he thought of that, the events of that night came back to him and he jerked up, falling off of the horse with a yelp as he realized his hands were tied infront of him.

He hit the ground hard, a cloud of dust springing up around him as the horses stopped. Each horse was black in color, with black dressed riders. The Midnight blades. The horse he was riding on had a woman with a cross bow strapped across her back. Crow.

Looking around, he saw each of the Midnight blades looking at him to see what happened. At the front was none other than the Arbiter, with Lux at her back. Lux was wearing purple hooded cloak, with a black shirt and grey trousers, brown boots completing her ensemble. Now that he realized it, he was wearing different clothes as well. He was wearing blue pants, with numerous belts, a leather jacket, with his torso being covered in wrappings similar to bandages.

"Nice to see you've finally woken up." The Arbiter said as Lux stared helplessly at him, biting her lips. "Get back on the horse, Explorer. Or we'll tie you to one and let you walk."

Ezreal narrowed his eyes at the explorer, growling as rage bubbled within him. He subdued it, however, as he got back on the horse, with some difficulty due to his tied hands, and asked, "What if I can't walk?"

Berserker chuckled at this, before saying, in a very deep and rumbling voice, similar to rolling thunder, "The last one died after 3 miles."

Ezreal said nothing at this, sickened by that thought as the group horses started riding again, going at a slow trot. It was morning, green lush trees flanking the path on both sides. Ezreal recognized this as a path that wasn't used anymore, but led from Demacia to Noxus. The path was too long, too winding, not suitable for trade caravans or armies.

He glanced up over the shoulder of Crow, watching the back of Lux on the front horse. He didn't know what was happening or why, but he was sure of one thing… He'd keep Lux safe.

…

It was pretty dark, so it was hard to see anyone who was out. Riven yelped as she tripped over something, the knee-high grass hiding things on the ground. But as soon as she tripped over whatever it was she tripped over, there was a sudden metallic clang, like metal jaws closing. She drew her blade, looking around for whatever made that sound. She heard a noise… The smallest noise, just a small whistle of the wind. Her battle instincts kicked in and she jumped to the side, rolling on the ground as she got back up to see a large, glowing spear fly past her at a very high speed. If she hadn't reacted, it would've skewered her. The spear dug into the ground several feet away as Riven looked around for the one who threw the spear.

Another sound, the smallest whisper of the wind and she turned around just in time to block a slash made by a red blur, which disappeared as soon as it passed her. Whatever it was, it had a blade which she deflected from cutting her in half. And then, there was a sound behind her. Like the padded footfall of something large and heavy. She turned around, expecting another unseen attack. She saw nothing. Then, suddenly, gold and black colors swirled around infront of her, revealing a very large and very intimidating figure. It was Rengar, dressed in full Headhunter Regalia. Riven took a step back, eyes wide and alert, akin to those of a cornered animal. Next to Rengar, another golden and black shadow appeared, uncloaking to reveal Headhunter Yi.

"Great. Now I'm guessing Nidalee Is somewhere here as well?" Riven asked, taking small glances around her but keeping her eyes on the two figures infront of her. A low growl behind her answered her as her eyes narrowed, heart pumping hard.

"We're looking for Talon…. And you have his scent on you." Rengar said in his deep voice, golden eyes glowing intimidatingly at her.

Riven thought about what Rengar and his band of Headhunters could possibly want with Talon. A no-shit answer presented itself in her mind with bright blinking lights as she narrowed her eyes.

Rengar sensed the battle hunger from the woman as he grinned. "Yes, that's what I thought. Yi. Nidalee." He said as Yi nodded, disappearing as he ran off. Behind Riven, she heard Nidalee running off as well. Rengar popped his neck, making cracking noises as he got into a stance, his large blade and metal claws at the ready. "Come on!" He roared as Riven yelled her own battle cry, dashing forward.

Riven managed to get in close very fast, catching the larger beast by surprise as she shoved the pommel of the blade into Rengar's stomach. Rengar let out a pained breath as he stumbled back, slightly stunned from the impact while Riven gripped her blade harder. She slashed horizontally with a cry, which Rengar stepped back from. She jumped forward, swinging her blade over head, which Rengar blocked with his blade. She jumped forward again, unrelenting, as Rengar took a step back, being forced to block this one too. She jumped forward a third time, putting most of her strength into this overhead strike as she let out a battle cry, but Rengar had had enough. He roared deafeningly, loud enough to release a shockwave of energy from his advanced armor, a golden burst of energy shoving Riven back, interrupting her attack. She skidded back on the ground, leaning low on the ground, her right foot back while her left foot was forward, the knee bent. Her left hand was straight down, the fingertips touching the ground while her right hand stayed up right horizontally, holding the blade up. She dashed forward again with another cry, but Rengar stepped forward, anticipating her. He pushed his left shoulder forward as Riven crashed into the huge skull that served as both a trophy and a shoulder guard for Rengar. She was lucky none of the numerous spikes skewered her.

As she stumbled back, Rengar pushed to his advantage. He roared another battle cry before suddenly slashing down at her with his great hunter's knife. She raised her sword, gripping the blade with both hands as she used the flat side of the broken sword to deflect the savage hit. Rengar was undeterred as he instantly followed up by pulling his arm back and doing the same maneuver again, this time with a lot more force behind it. Riven's eyes widened as her pupils dilated, adrenaline rushing through her. Her broken blade glowed green as it reforged itself into it's full form, taking the full blow of the empowered hit. Riven was forced to fall down onto one knee before she jumped back, narrowly escaped a sidewise swipe by Rengar's claws. It cut two slits into her top, however, in the stomach area, serving as a very awakening reminder of how close the claws had come.

Rengar wouldn't let her back off, however. He jumped forward, landing infront of her as he began slashing at her rapidly, his speed and strength frightening. It was all Riven could do to block and dodge each strike. But every now and then, a slash or a stab came close. It was when Rengar's claws thrust forward as Riven leaned away from it, the claw just nicking her under her left eye, making a small cut, that she decided to go on the offense.

With another cry, her throat hoarse but no thought spared to it, she slashed horizontally. Rengar jumped back from the deadly slash, the sword' length greatly outranging him. Riven realized this as well as she continued slashing haphazardly at Rengar, not allowing him to get closer. Rengar was now being forced to block and dodge, growling his distaste.

With another roar, Rengar slammed the flat of his knife against the flat of hers knocking both weapons to the side as he suddenly came in close and drove his knee upwards into Riven's stomach. Lucky for Riven, it was the knee that didn't have a spike to impale her on.

All the breath was knocked out of Riven as the bone-jarring kick slammed upwards into her stomach, her small body [compared to Rengar] being forced up off the ground from the impact. Her hand lost the grip of her sword, as she flew backwards. She landed hard on the ground, eyes widening from pain as her back arched, unable to make any noise except for pained, incoherent noises.

Rengar panted, his heavy breaths slowing and lightening as he watched Riven try to recover, getting back on her feet as she distanced herself from Rengar. She was disarmed, her sword lying next to Rengar. Rengar bared his teeth in a smile, chuckling lowly as he leaned down to pick her broken sword up. Then, surprisingly, he threw it at Riven, who caught it, confused.

"Round two, warrior." Rengar said, thumping his chest with his left fist. "I haven't had a good battle like this for quite a while." He growled. Riven narrowed her eyes, her sword glowing green again as the blade reformed. She couldn't afford another mistake like that…

…

Katarina 's teeth were clenched as she searched for Talon. Her efforts so far had been fruitless, and slowly, she was getting more and more pissed and worried.

"I swear, if you've gone and killed yourself, I will kill you, Talon." Katarina said to no-one in particular, grinding her teeth.

"What if you're the one who gets killed first?" A presumptuous, slightly accented voice asked. Katarina spun around in an instant, drawing both of her blades as her green eyes darted in both directions. She slowly turned, watching around her for whoever spoke.

"Alright, wise guy, show your face so I can throw a dagger into it." She said. Right before her eyes, a figure uncloaked with golden light refractions across his body. It was none other than Master Yi, with a smug smile on his face.

Before Yi could say any more, he had to crouch down as fast he could to dodge an dagger that flew at his face at bullet speed. The dagger stuck into the wall of a building several feet behind Yi as Yi straightened up, looking behind him at the dagger before turning back to face Katarina.

"Boy, you sure mean what you say, don't you?" Yi asked, spinning his long serrated blade around with his right hand once in a paced, fluid motion.

"I wouldn't be very intimidating if I didn't." Katarina said, green eyes burning with bloodlust. She didn't know why Yi was here, but she could easily guess. And she wouldn't be the one to have her head hunted.

* * *

**It's sad that you can't kill a character more than once, or I would be killing Teemo every chapter. Stay tuned for more action.**

**As always, Please leave a review of your thoughts, questions and suggestions on the chapter.**

**Rule 2 of being an Assassin: "Never overstay your welcome."**


	12. Chapter 12

**Hey there everyone! Welcome to another chapter of Wings of the Raven. Now, prepare for some action folks, as this chapter contains a complete package of it. There's violence, there's death and there's some feels.**

**Sorry for the slight delay on my updates. School has just started and most of my day goes by playing League of Legends and watching Teen Wolf, Game of Thrones, etc.**

**Also, I've been spending alot of time reading random fanfictions in the LoL archive and reviewing the ones I like. xD It's awesome to see that the League of Legends fanfiction archive has definitely seen an uprise in both writers and readers.**

**Without further ado, *Pauses to fire a crossbow at a Teemo, the yordles' head flying clean off his body from the force of the bolt*, Enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

**Wings of the Raven**

**Chapter 12**: Ascension

Stalking her prey, the demonic cougar silently approached the barn. Her padded paws muted her footsteps as she entered the barn. At once, her sensitive nose was assaulted by the scent of her prey, mixed with the smell of sweat and sex. She neared the small stack of hay where the scent was strongest, but found no one there. Growling, Nidalee looked around, pouncing to the side just as a streak of silver crashed down from above, right where she had been moments earlier. The ground exploded in a cloud of dust and debris as Nidalee instantly transformed into her human form, readying her spear as Diana stood up in the middle of the crater, having been forced into a crouch when she landed. Silver energy was steaming off of her skin like smoke as Diana opened her eyes, silver eyes sharp and predatory while the mark of the Lunari , which was on her forehead, glowed vividly. Nidalee only narrowed her eyes as she readied her spear.

"You think you can fight me, Nidalee?" Diana asked, tilting her head, allowing her platinum blonde hair to fall to the side a bit, seemingly silver as the moonlight shone down from behind her.

"You aren't the target I am looking for, Heretic… But, I believe I can kill you." Nidalee said smugly, fingers gripping her spear tighter as green electricity jumped in between the prongs of the spear. Diana's eyebrows raised for a moment as she thought on this fact. _Nocturne…_

Diana turned her hand, a small movement, causing the her blade to turn and catch the moonlight. Nidalee noticed this and instantly jumped. A second later, Diana slashed horizontally, releasing an arc of moonlight that arched outward in front of her, slicing through the air under Nidalee as she flipped over it. Nidalee landed close to Diana, jabbing swiftly at the Lunari with her spear. But Diana was fast, dodging each jab with fluid movements. One jab was slashed aside by her crescent blade, but Nidalee simply used that to her advantage; As Diana's blade forced the spear-head to the left, Nidalee spun the spear in the same direction, slamming the other end of the spear into Diana's side left side. Diana grunted, but reacted quickly as she brought her left arm close, using the arm to hold the spear against her, rendering it immobile and useless. Her right hand gripping her blade, Diana then slashed at Nidalee's face, whose eyes widened moments before she jumped back, releasing the grip on the spear. Nidalee landed in a predatory crouch, one hand on the ground while the other was pulled back slightly, ready to strike as Diana clutched Nidalee's spear in her left hand triumphantly. She spun it around so that the spearhead pointed downwards, and stuck it into the ground. A flash of silver and the spear shattered, Diana's crescent blade steaming with energy.

"You think that's the only weapon I have, Lunari?" Nidalee asked, reaching behind her for her belt and pulling out a small cylinder. She tightened her grip on the cylinder and it suddenly elongated in response, forming another spear that was identical to the one Diana had broken.

"You think you have an infinite number of spears, Huntress?" Diana retorted, causing Nidalee to smirk. Diana skillfully spun her blade around before getting into a stance. "Come, Huntress. It is time you met your goddess." She said.

Nidalee snorted, crouching down into her predatory pose again as she repled, "You might be a Lunari, Diana. But you aren't Artemis."

Nidalee flipped to the side as Diana shot a crescent shaped bolt of energy which travelled along the ground, exploding upwards in a burst of silver at the location where Nidalee had been moments earlier. Nidalee retaliated by throwing her spear, with a grunt of effort, at her opponent. The sign on Diana's forehead glowed vividly as Diana slashed at the spear with her silver blade, the sword effortlessly cutting the spear into splinters of broken metal. Another burst of silver and she appeared behind Nidalee, the huntress reacting slow as she turned around to face the heretic.

Diana kneed Nidalee in the stomach, causing the huntress to snarl in pain, before slashing at Nidalee's face with her sword. Nidalee deftly jumped backwards, the slash just catching her face, opening a cut on her left cheek. As soon as she landed on her feet, Nidalee pounced forward again, transforming into her bestial form in mid-jump. Diana's eyes widened momentarily, her right hand already occupied, having just slashed at the huntress. Her left arm shot up, blocking Nidalee as she pounced upon the Lunari, the two fighters falling to the ground. Nidalee began clawing and biting at Diana, who's left arm was pressed against Nidalee's neck, preventing the huntress from biting her face off although the gaping maw snapped dangerously close. Nidalee's claws, however, were raking Diana's shoulders viciously, the ornate Lunari armor being scarred with deep scratches and claw marks as Nidalee worked through them, trying to work through them to the soft skin underneath. With clenched teeth and immense effort, Diana pushed upwards with her left arm, causing the gauntlet to dig into the beast's throat, choking it and causing a brief shortage of air.

A bit shocked, Nidalee reared up her head, releasing her neck from Diana's left arm while also freeing Diana's shoulders. But before Diana could swing her sword up, Nidalee lunged downwards again, jaws closing down on Diana's left arm. Diana cried out in pain, the armored gauntlet cracking under the immense pressure, allowing Nidalee's teeth to dig into her arm. Nidalee's left paw was pressing down on Diana's right elbow, preventing the Lunari from using her blade. As Diana struggled, blood drops splattering out from her arm as Nidalee viciously began to tear into it. She was trying to flex her right wrist, trying to see if only her hand could do something with her blade. With a cry of effort, Diana contracted her right wrist, pulling the curved blade in, causing its tip to dig into Nidalee's side. The beast released Diana's arm to roar in pain, Allowing Diana to pull her left arm back and punch the beast right in the face.

The pain in her already injured left arm was blinding as it took the full brunt of the force of the punch, but the cracking sound that resounded from Nidalee's jaws as her fist impacted it made up for the immense pain. Since the punch came from Diana's left, Nidalee's head was force to her left, causing the blade's tip to dig in even deeper into her side. Nidalee turned, wrenching the blade's hooked tip from her side as she jumped off, turning back into her human form as she prepared another spear. There was a small but deep cut in her left side, bleeding profusely as Nidalee clutched it with her left hand, growling as she spat out blood and teeth. Diana stood up, her left arm cradled against her chest, mangled and bloody as pieces of the cracked and broken gauntlet fell off.

Nidalee lunged forward, stabbing at Diana with her spear, but Diana sidestepped it, spinning around as she did so while raising her blade over her head. The curved blade stopped at her back as she spun, causing it to hit to the spear as it passed, pulling it outwards. The spear was a pulled, resulting in Nidalee losing her balance mid-lunge. As Diana's spin finished, she brought her blade down, the silver blade catching the moonlight before slashing down in a streak of silver, which was soon joined by a spurt of crimson. Nidalee numbly registered the blade buried deep into her right side, having slashed right through her shoulder and was now stuck halfway in her torso, blood splattering and spurting out, before Diana stepped forward and kicked Nidalee, wrenching the crescent blade out of the huntress, who fell, succumbing quickly to the killing blow.

Diana stared down at Nidalee's corpse, watching the life leave her eyes as Diana said, "The moon always rises."

Then, cradling her injured arm, Diana ran out of the barn, looking around desperately for Nocturne before running off in towards the city's direction to search for him.

…

Master Yi was running, crouching and jumping randomly as he ran, even going so far as to twirl in mid air. As he ran, bullets flew past him, narrowly missing him because of his fast movements and reactions. Although, what seemed like bullets were actually knives, thrown at unbelievable, almost superhuman speed. At one point, Master Yi actually had to flip off a wall, using his sword to deflect the knives thrown at him as he flipped. Katarina didn't seem to have an end to her knives. She seemed to be pulling them out of thin air. Yi could've sworn he saw her reach into her boots quite a few times.

"What's wrong, am I too fast for you?" Yi asked, grinning smugly as Katarina's eyes flared with anger. Katarina suddenly drew back into a stance, her arms crossed over one another, each hand reaching for her belt. She was leaning forward as her fingertips hooked around her special knives, the ones she kept for this move. Yi raised an eyebrow, although it went unseen due to his helmet. Katarina spun around, suddenly throwing 4 knives at Yi with lightning fast speed and accuracy. Yi rolled to the side, having to react almost instantaneously in order to dodge the knives. But as he looked up to face Katarina, he saw that she wasn't there anymore. Instead, he only felt the cold steel of a knife against his throat before Katarina simply said, "You're too cocky for your own damn good."  
"Fu-"

Katarina pulled the blade across the front of his throat viciously, feeling the warm lifeblood spurt out over her hands before she stabbed the knife back into the side of his neck, making sure it was a fatal wound by completely slashing Master Yi's throat open. Sickening gurgling noises were emitted as Katarina gripped both sides of Master Yi's neck to hold him in place, his body convulsing and spasming as as the corpse began to writhe about in death. Katarina simply smiled, enjoying his blood running through her fingers as she shushed him, like a mother would shush a scared child. Soon, Yi's body became limp as Katarina let it drop, her bloodlust sated. She had already been pissed at Talon's sudden disappearance, and a smug little prat who just ran fast wasn't going to stop her.

Swishing her red hair back, away from her face, she growled, emerald eyes blazing with anger. "I'm done being all nice and timid. Either he fucking shows his face or I cut his balls off." She said. As soon as the words left her lips, a battle roar cut through the night air. It's source was outside the city and she began making her way outside.

…

Riven screamed in anger, swinging her blade with mighty force. But she was exhausted, sweat covering her skin like a second layer, clothes sticking to her skin. Her strikes were powerful, but they were uncoordinated and reckless. Rengar was easily dodging the powerful slashes, noticing that this battle was nearing its end. He roared, suddenly dodging a downward strike as Riven's blade slammed into the ground. He lunged forward, his clawed hand grabbing Riven's hands as they gripped her blade, immobilizing both of them. Riven only managed to look up in surprise, eyes widening as Rengar slashed at her left thigh with his other hand, the one wielding the hunter's knife.

Riven screamed in pain, feeling her quadriceps being sliced as she fell backwards, hands releasing her sword. She was too exhausted to do anything except grip the gash in her thigh, watching as Rengar regarded her solemnly. Her breaths were long and harsh, like the ones of a warrior after a battle well fought. Rengar acknowledged this, looking down at her sword, which lay by his feet.

"You were a very combat-worthy opponent, Riven. I shall take good care of your sword as a trophy of this battle. I will give you the honor of a quick death." Rengar said, slowly walking closer to her. Riven only watched, her maroon eyes still blazing with a fire being extinguished by acceptance. She accepted her defeat, knowing that she was outmatched, and as Rengar towered over her, she closed her eyes, raising her head as she tried to sit up as straight and proud as she could.

But the strike did not fall. Instead, Riven opened her eyes to see Rengar's back turned. The Pridestalker was watching a lone black figure standing in the distance. The figure was completely black and almost featureless, making it nearly impossible to tell what he was wearing. Only two blue V-shaped slits that were glowing on the head of the being gave it some detail, as well as the bladed cape, black as the body itself. It had to black extensions on the outer edges of its arms. Blades. Riven's eyes widened as she realized who this was.

"Finally, the true prey shows himself." Rengar said as Nocturne simply remained silent. Nocturne tilted his head to one side, watching Rengar as the headhunter slowly walked away from Riven, approaching his target while intentionally lowering Riven's chances from being caught in the crossfire. He didn't want to kill Riven accidentally or get her killed… He wanted to kill her face to face.

Then, Nocturne charged. The Hybrid was infront of Rengar within a heartbeat, its black blade thrusting forward. But Rengar deflected the blade with his own knife, suddenly lunging forward to head-butt Nocturne hard. Nocturne stumbled back, hissing as he raised his covered face, blue slits glowing. In a burst of shadow, Nocturne vanished, reappearing behind Rengar, spinning around as the blades on his cape came whipping around. Rengar rolled forward as soon as he heard the hybrid's heartbeat behind him, dodging the blades which cut through the grass. Rengar's eyes fell to the cut grass, noting how the grass was cut clean, a testament to the blades' cutting edge. The cut-tips were smoking black with energy, causing Rengar to emit a thoughtful growl in the back of his throat.

Nocturne charged forward again, thrusting rapidly at Rengar with enough speed to even challenge the famed Grand Duelist of Demacia. Rengar turned so his left shoulder faced the blows, the shoulder guard taking the brunt of the assault, while his knife was used to deflect and intercept any strikes that threatened to fly past the skull. It's fragile look was deceiving, as the skull was proving to be very strong. Nocturne's blade, as sharp as it was, only managed to scratch it and chip off miniscule pieces with each thrust. Then Nocturne pulled his right blade back, dark energy radiating from his blade a moment before he thrust forward, but this time, Rengar jumped to the side, dodging the blow before slashing at Nocturne's stomach area with his metal claws. The hybrid snarled in pain, stumbling back, left hand clutching his midriff while his right hand extended, pointing the arm-blade at Rengar. The blade suddenly shot outwards like a bullet, leaving behind a cone of black energy as it flew, catching Rengar by surprise. Rengar rose his left hand to use his metal claws to deflect the blade as it flew, but the blade simply cut right through them, rendering them useless. It dug into the Pridestalker's right shoulder, the beast roaring in pain as the force from the hit caused his body to twist clockwise, right foot taking a step back to absorb the impact.

The hybrid stared down at his midriff, seeing the twin slash marks on his stomach area, blood seeping out before the black armor reformed around it, sealing the wound. Nocturne was quite surprised as he looked back up to stare at Rengar, who only snarled, once again falling into a combat stance. The blade in his shoulder vanished, reforming on Nocturne's arm as more blood spurted out of the now-open wound on Rengar's shoulder. But the Head hunter didn't even seem to notice as the hybrid continued to stare at Rengar.

"What's wrong, Hybrid?" Rengar asked, not lowering his guard.

"What are you… What kind of sick abomination are you that does not feel fear!?" Nocturne said, his voice morphing from the usual hiss to a distorted roar. Rengar raised his head and laughed before going back into his combat stance, saying, "Why would I be afraid?"

Rengar roared the next part, "This is the thrill that I live off!"

Nocturne snarled, charging forward again. But then, Rengar vanished from sight, causing Nocturne to stop in his tracks as he looked around.

"It's been a long time since I used stealth while fighting an opponent. I deem you worthy enough to fight me at my best!" Rengar said from nowhere and everywhere, Nocturne not being able to see the beast. He couldn't hear Rengar's heartbeat or see his lifeforce, not even the blood in his body.

And then, Rengar roared behind him, suddenly pouncing on him. Nocturne turned in a flash, raising the blades on both of his arms to catch the incoming blow. The attack was so strong that both of Nocturne's arms were forced aside, giving Rengar a clear shot at his target. Rengar roared in triumph, sensing a victory as he pressed his advantage, thrusting his left hand forward. Even without his metal claws, the natural claws on his hands were sharp enough to pierce most armor and flesh.

As expected, his claws dug into his opponent, but it wasn't the hybrid. Rengar looked at his hand, inserted into the abdomen of his victim, but the victim had too slender of a waist to be the hybrid. The clothes were different too… His eyes raised up to see Diana's face staring resolutely at him.

Diana had her blade in front of her, pressed up against Rengar's throat, pointed upwards. The lion was so surprised by her sudden appearance, he failed to react as Diana shoved the blade up into the headhunter's head, the curved blade cutting a path through bone and brain matter before exiting out of the top of Rengar's head, the crescent sword digging into the base of his skull right up to the hilt. Rengar only managed to growl lowly before Diana wrenched her blade out and kicked Rengar down, uttering a pained breath when Rengar's claws exited from her body. She dropped her bloody sword, pale and trembling as she clutched at the wound on her abdomen. She turned around to look at Nocturne, who's face was uncovered, icy blue eyes staring wide-eyed and in shock at Diana.

Before Rengar had delivered the killing blow, Diana had used the last of her energy to rush in between them, appearing just in time to push Nocturne away and take the blow. Now, the two stared at each other as Nocturne stood up. Diana took an unsteady step, trying to walk to Nocturne. Her next step faltered as she almost fell, Nocturne catching her.

"Diana… Why?" Nocturne asked, holding her up against him as his eyes gazed into Diana's silver eyes. His eyes were oddly distant.

"Because… Love… It makes people do crazy things." Diana said weakly, looking up at Nocturne's face with an emotion that could only be described as affection. Nocturne closed his eyes as Diana leaned her face upwards, softly kissing Nocturne.

The sound of a blade slipping into flesh. Diana's eyes shot open as their kiss parted, staring up at Nocturne in disbelief. She looked down to see Nocturne's blade protruding out of her chest, having pierced her through completely.

She looked back up at him, tears finally falling from her eyes at the betrayal, as Nocturne pulled her closer to him, falling to his knees. He cradled her dying body, his face devoid of emotion. Then, he smiled a cold smile, wiping Diana's tears off her face as he then said, "You were always a fool, driven by a need to find love and acceptance. Did you actually think I felt anything for you except contempt?"

Diana's eyes grew grieved, more tears falling out of her eyes as she struggled to say something. But she choked, both due to the blood filling her lungs and due to her grief, only able stare up at him. But her eyes didn't show hate.

Grief. Sorrow. Confusion… Forgiveness… And affection.

Though Nocturne had just driven a blade into her, she still loved him. Nocturne laughed at this, pulling his blade out of her viciously as Diana shuddered, her breath slowly leaving her, serving as a measurement for her rapidly draining life.

"You're even stupider than I thought. Like a little lovesick girl… Disgusting." Nocturne said, watching as Diana's body went limp in his hands.

Pushing her off his lap, he stood up, turning around to face Riven. He hadn't forgotten her.

Riven had been witnessing the horrific battle and incident with wide eyes, slowly crawling towards her blade. Now, she had her blade in one hand, the other one clutching her wound. She stared up at the hybrid in fear as he stared at her from across the field. Then, he began walking towards her as Riven scrambled backwards unconsciously. The thought of using her sword didn't even come to her fear plagued mind.

Nocturne was fast approaching, almost upon her, when suddenly there was a flash of red and black.  
Katarina suddenly appeared behind Nocturne in mid-air, already turning around to execute a kick. The kick slammed into the side of the hybrids head, sending him flying sideways into the ground. He didn't get back up, knocked out cold from the powerful kick. Katarina landed in a crouch, panting. She had run the entire way here and had to use a last spurt of energy to be able to use her Shunpo and save Riven.

Before Katarina could say anything, Riven blurted out, "Katarina. It's fear. Fear is what fuels him and gives him his impossible power."

"I figured. Which is why I was able to knock the living shit out of him with one blow." Katarina said in an angered tone, which barely covered her worry. She offered a hand to Riven, which Riven took. With a grunt of effort, Riven stood up, throwing one arm around Katarina's neck to be able to stand and walk.

"I saw a barn nearby. We can recuperate there." Katarina said as Riven nodded, eyes on Diana's corpse. Katarina, noticing her spaced out look, followed her gaze.

Diana looked serene now, her face holding no emotion. With her eyes closed, it almost looked like she was sleeping ,except for the two wounds in her body and her mangled arm.

"He killed her, didn't he?" Katarina asked, as Riven nodded grimly, feeling sorrow for the woman she had never really known. Katarina lowered her head, red hair covering her eyes as she offered it as a sign of respect. Then, she began to move again, slowly helping Riven towards the barn. She'd come get Talon afterwards.

* * *

**Most of you might be wondering why I killed off Yi so quickly. Well, for one thing, I don't like Yi. For the other thing, you will realize that most Master Yi players are indeed very cocky. The champion itself is now quite cocky if you look at it in a way, his taunts and jokes, etc. Also, nothing's worse than a girl who's on her period. Including Katarina.**

**Lol jk, she's on on her period... Is She? I don't know and I don't wanna ask, lest I want a knife in my balls.**

**The thing I'm wondering most about is if I gave you the feels from Diana's death. Did I get the sorrow and sadness across correctly? Are you all going "these feels. so sad"? because that's what I was going for.**

**Hope you liked the chapter, leave your thoughts on this chapter in the reviews. Thanks for reading and see you next time!**

Pro-tip: For Kha'zix users, for fuck's sake, stop evolving W so much. It got nerfed in the last patch and now it's almost useless if you evolve it first. I'm tired of seeing geniuses who don't read patch notes evolving their W at lvl 6 and failing to assassinate anything until level 16. I usually evolve Q first, then E, Then R. Got 3 Pentakills that way. Remember, if you're going to play an assassin, you build him like an assassin.  
Also, stop making stupid Manamunes and tear items on him. You go in, you kill, you go back, heal. Rinse repeat, you don't need tear items.

^tl;dr : l2p kz noob.


	13. Chapter 13

**FIRST OFF, I'D LIKE TO TELL EVERYONE TO KEEP TRACK OF ME ON MY PROFILE. I'VE MADE SOME NEW ADDITIONS TO IT AND THERE'S AN UPDATE SECTION THERE TO KEEP TRACK OF ME, SO YOU ALL CAN KNOW THAT I'M NOT DEAD WHEN I'M DOING LONG PERIODS OF INACTIVITY. THANKS.**

**Hey guys, and welcome to another chapter of Wings of the Raven. But from this chapter onwards, I shall be changing the name of this story to "Darkness Rising" as it seems much more fitting. I will make this change 24 hours after this chapter has been posted so all of you don't lose track of it.**

**Now this chapter is one of the longest chapters I've ever done, as atonement for the delay. I warn you all, this chapter has not been proofread. I've tried contacting my alpha reader but he hasn't responded, so I'm going ahead without his see-through. If anyone else wishes to participate.**

**I'm still looking for a Beta/Alpha Reader for my other story, The Shadow that Watches.**

**Back to the story, this chapter does not focus much on our main line of protagonists. Rather, it focuses on our secondary protagonists a bit. But the majority of this chapter is taken up by action scenes of the demacian characters engaging in a fight with the Midnight blades to save Lux and Ezreal. Hope you all enjoy it.**

* * *

**Darkness Rising**

**Chapter 13 : Never forget the forgotten**

The ride down the road-less-travelled was very long and uneventful. However, for Ezreal, it was a time spent with a million thoughts going through his head. Thoughts about what was going to happen to Lux. Thoughts about what was going to happen to him. Thoughts about how he could save Lux, even if it meant he would have to sacrifice himself. Without his gauntlet, Ezreal was quite powerless.

"Oi. Explorer." A feminine voice and a hand snapping it's fingers infront of his face brought him back to reality. It was dark, for two reasons. One being that it was night time. The other being that they were in a cave. A blue fire blazed in the middle of the cave around which everyone lingered, resting from the day's worth of travels. The horses were hidden away outside the cave somewhere, and the blue fire didn't do much to light the cave up. Ezreal's eyes scanned the cave, glancing at everyone.

Nightshade was lying near the fire, belly-down, inspecting his blades in the blue glow of the unnatural fire, his hood shadowing his face so it was impossible to tell how he looked like. Berserker was staring at his muscular hands, flexing them and inspecting them. His face was as rough as expected, strong jawed and tanned, with several scars and intimidating eyes.

Stryker was conversing with Lux, although Lux seemed reluctant to be doing so. Stryker had a friendly smile on his face, however, as they continued to make small talk. Stryker's face was long and high-cheeked, like one belonging to a nobleman, with piercing blue eyes. Both he and Lux glanced at Ezreal as Ezreal's eyes skimmed over them. The Arbiter was the only one still with his mask on. He was standing apart from the rest, near the mouth of the cave, as he simply stood silently, staring at darkness which was dimly illuminated by the mouth of the cave quite a distance away.

His eyes finally landed on the woman who had woken him from his thoughts. It was Crow, and her mask was currently off as well. She had a prettier face than Ezreal had expected, with young, pale features. Her eyes were onyx in color and her black hair fell around her face in a messy fashion. If not for her lightly armored outfit, she would've looked like a regular youth in Demacia. Her stony eyes inspected Ezreal's face as he said, "My name's Ezreal, not Explorer."

"Alright, _Ezreal._ I suggest you eat your supper before it gets cold." She said, shoving the can into Ezreal's hands. It was tinned soup, heated and cooked by the fire, wrapped in a small cloth to prevent the heat from burning his hands. Ezreal looked down at it before looking back up. Before he spoke, Crow said, "While you were lost in your own world, we already ate."

"Where are you from?" Ezreal asked all of a sudden. Crow's features darkened slightly as she stood up from the crouch she was in, walking away from Ezreal.  
"You don't just ask us where we're from, Boy." Came a deep, rumbling voice, originating from Berserker. The man had fixed his hard brown gaze on Ezreal as he absent-mindedly juggled a few pebbles inbetween the fingers of his right hand.

"We're the Midnight Blades, lad. We have no names nor do we have homes. We are a faceless group who strike from the shadows. Do you really think we'd share our personal lives with you? Lives we've left behind for a reason?" He continued, a small smirk on his face.

Ezreal smirked as well, taking a sip of his slightly warm soup before saying, "Well, I can see that you have a face."

Berserker uttered a low laugh, closing his eyes for a few moments before opening them and speaking, "I like you boy. Maybe after this is done, you can join us."

"And why do you think I'll join you?" Ezreal said, actually quite caught off guard by the sudden proposal.

"Well, look at it this way." Nightshade spoke, his voice quite monotone and young. " We're going to Noxus with a demacian noble. Now, the Noxians need this girl, for some reason. But they don't need you. You are, how can I put this… Loose ends." As he said the last two words, Nightshade was inspecting the gauntlet on his right arm. An arm blade shot out as soon as he said the last word, providing an unnecessary but powerful emphasis on his statement.

"Noxians will want to kill you because you're more threat than benefit. Demacia will execute you as a traitor for delivering their noble to Noxus. Piltover will want nothing to do with you after you're an outlaw. And Zaun will take you in. Before taking you apart." Berserker said, continuing where Nightshade left off.

Ezreal's eyes briefly glanced at Lux, who was staring at him. Their single moment of eye contact spoke thousands of words to each other, but Ezreal ignored what Lux was trying to say to him. A fire was burning within him for these men who even dared to imply that Ezreal would join the merry band of men who'd taken his heart from him and was delivering it to Noxus.

"You know, that sounds like a grand idea." Ezreal said, his eyes widening as if with awe. Ezreal took another sip of his soup, grimacing as he said, "Ugh, it's cold."

He then got up on his knees, scooting over to the fire, seeming like he was going to warm his food. As he reached it, Ezreal suddenly lunged at Nightshade, slamming the can into the man's face. Nightshade, completely caught off guard, uttered a small cry of pain as he rolled away from Ezreal, quickly moving into a defensive crouch, one hand massaging his bleeding nose while the other bared a blade from within his gauntlet. But Ezreal had gotten what he wanted. The blade Nightshade had been previously inspecting, a black dagger with a 4 inch long blade, was now in his hands as he stood up, holding it at Nightshade. Berserker didn't even move, watching Ezreal with a stony gaze. Stryker was looking at Ezreal with distaste, staying near Lux incase the explorer tried to save her and make a break for it. Even the Arbiter had moved, turning his head so the side of his masked face was visible over his shoulder.

Suddenly, Crow moved infront of Ezreal, eyes narrowed. Ezreal took a step back, raising the knife higher as Crow snorted in contempt. "You think you can take us all on with one little knife, Ezreal?" Crow asked.

"Why don't you try me, birdy?" Ezreal said menacingly, bluffing as if he knew what he was doing. Truth be told, he didn't really have much combat training with a knife. He only used blades like this for survival situations or for more trivial and technical situations.

Crow suddenly spun around, bringing her foot up at Ezreal. Her heel collided with the blade in his hand, sending it spinning out of his hand as she finished her spin by stepping forward towards Ezreal. Ezreal brought his arms up, but Crow aimed an uppercut instead of a straight punch, getting her slender, thin arm behind Ezreal's guard and grabbing his throat in a claw-like grip, her nails gripping down on his larynx. Ezreal clenched his teeth, bringing his arms down to cause Crow to release her grip, but Crow pulled her arm out faster than Ezreal brought his arms down, using her free left hand to grab Ezreal's right shoulder. She pulled down on his shoulder, pulling him to his right while her leg suddenly kicked out at his ankles, sweeping his feet from under him. The combined move caused Ezreal to fall to the ground hard on his side. In a flash, Crow's knee collided into Ezreal's chest, sending a ringing shockwave of pain throughout his body from the impact. It wasn't a fatal impact nor a serious one, but it was painful and incapacitating as Ezreal felt his breath forced out of his mouth.

"You try that again, and I'll use your own knife to skin you." Crow said in a sinister voice before letting him go and walking away from him. Ezreal coughed, crawling back until his back hit the cave wall, clutching his aching chest with one hand while he took ragged breaths. His eyes glanced at Nightshade, although Nightshade didn't really seem to be breathing hard from the hit. Nightshade simply had his hand up, holding his nose to stem the bleeding, his hand falling under the shadow of his hood as it held the nose.

"Crow. Berserker. Stryker." The Arbiter suddenly spoke, naming three of his squad. The named individuals immediately stood up, putting their masks onto their face. Ezreal had to watch with curiousity as he witnessed Crow pulling a small mask from her belt, big enough to cover her mouth and nose, shaped like the beak of a bird. As she put it on, smooth sounds of metal sliding over metal was emitted as the mask suddenly became larger, becoming the full mask he had first seen her wearing. The same happened for Stryker and Berserker, small masks enlarging with some mechanism to form full masks.

Without another word, the four Midnight blades walked out, leaving Lux and Ezreal alone with Nightshade. Ezreal took this opportunity to quickly get over to Lux, who stretched her arms out to embrace him as soon as he got close, almost lunging at him as she wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face in his shoulder. Nightshade just watched, his face hidden by the shadows cast by his hood.

…

The Demacian squad was walking quite slowly and cautiously through the forest, trying to avoid making a sound. It was the most elite group of the Demacians, 2 squads. The Dauntless Vanguard and the Royal Elites, led by Garen Crownguard and Fiora Laurent themselves. To the sides, two more females were also present. Shyvana was by Fiora's side, her red hair providing contrast to the dark environment around them, her peach skin pale as her dark red eyes appeared focused and ready. Vayne was on the other side, slightly apart from the rest. Though she didn't really want to fight the Midnight Blades, seeing as how she had a small history with them, they had kidnapped Luxanna Crownguard and she would not return without the young blonde. Her red glasses glowed in the dark, a mix of piltover technology and magic allowing her perfect vision even in such dark circumstances.

They had been tracking the Midnight Blades for quite some time after the group had left Demacia with Lux. Garen was fully determined to save his sister, Fiora burning with the desire to help her friend as well as protect a noble demacian.

And then, suddenly, Vayne stopped, raising her left hand up instantly to signal everyone to stop. Everyone complied to her as Vayne stayed still and silent for a few moments.

Within moments, Vayne had aimed her hand crossbow upwards, Fiora had drawn her rapier and struck it against a thin blade while Shyvana had turned to the side to face someone. Garen stood still, face becoming stony as he stared at the man infront of him. The Arbiter. Crow was perched ontop of a branch, aiming her crossbow down at Vayne who was doing the same at Crow. Berserker was a few feet away from Shyvana, towering over her as he uttered a low growl, Shyvana baring her teeth as she emitted a snarl, much in contrast to her humane face. Fiora narrowed her eyes, her rapier locked against a thin blade held easily by Stryker. Fiora could almost feel Stryker smiling under his mask.

"An entire Demacian welcome party." The Arbiter said, tilting his head slightly as he stared at Garen. "I will give you one chance to tell your men to retreat, Garen Crownguard."

"We won't be going anywhere until we take you down and find my sister." Garen said through clenched teeth, his fists clenching and unclenching but not drawing his blade yet.

The Arbiter made a small sound of amusement, before taking one step towards Garen. Garen tensed, but the Arbiter suddenly disappeared infront of Garen, fading out into darkness and reforming behind Garen, still walking in the same direction. Garen's eyes widened and before he could warn his stunned troops, the Arbiter made his move.

The Arbiter raised his left hand, the metal-gloved hand forming a claw-grip posture. A deep bass-note sound suddenly burst outwards from the Arbiter, moving visibly outwards like a shockwave and rattling everyone's bones with the vibrations. Most of the soldiers, demacia's most elite and highly trained men, didn't even manage to scream before huge gashes burst open on their arms, thighs, necks and torsos, their blood splattering in every direction as a black, ethereal substance was pulled out of their bodies and into a growing sphere in the Arbiter's hand. Most of the men died then, a few receiving moderate to minimal wounds. Garen's body only shook, as did the other's.

His eyes widened at the sight of his men dead on the ground, the survivors dying. "So, this is the famous Arbiter's move… True Judgement?"

The Arbiter held up the black sphere in his hand, as large as a football as dark energies swirled around inside it. "A man can repent and pray as many times a day as he wants. But like a man bathing himself to try and completely kill every foreign organism on his skin, a man cannot cleanse the sins he has committed with the good he does. Today, those sins are their downfall."

"So why haven't we fallen? I'm sure we've done our fair share of sins." Vayne said in a slightly amused voice, though her voice was mostly serious as always.

"Those with true heroic spirits or those with a strong will force are not affected by this." The Arbiter said as he turned around to face Garen, who had drawn his sword and was facing the Arbiter.  
"For you, we will personally be the judges."

Garen charged, screaming Demacia as the Arbiter pointed his left hand at Garen, the black sphere suddenly becoming more energetic. Garen's eyes widened before he rolled to the right, a black shot of pure energy blasting through the air where he once stood a moment later. The Arbiter pulled his large black blade out of it's mount on his back. The sword was almost as big as Garen's sword.

"Justice. Meet my black blade, Retribution." The Arbiter said before he dashed at Garen with blinding speed, Garen just being able to block the slash by locking blades with the Arbiter. All around him, he heard the rest of the champions engaging each of the Midnight Blades and Garen only hoped that Luxanna was safe, away from this battle.

…

Riven hissed as Katarina tightened the bandages over Riven's injuries. While Riven and Talon had been at the barn, Katarina had rushed back to their lodgings. Too risky to stay there anymore, Katarina had entered through the window, retrieved all of their belongings and left through the window. Katarina grimaced as she made the final wrap, pulling it tight again as the bandage firmly stuck onto Riven's thigh, Riven taking small, ragged breaths as she recovered from the pain. As the white-head gingerly touched her bandaged leg, applying pressure gently to inspect it, Katarina stood up and walked over to Talon.

The male assassin was still knocked out, his black armor still on his body, as well as covering his face, although the blue slits were now dimmed. Katarina crouched down next to him, hand reaching for the helmet that concealed his face. The material his armor was made of was slightly iridescent, almost impossible to discern any features about it due to its texture and the way It melded with the darkness around him. Her finger tips touched the mask, feeling the material. It was odd, a material she had never touched before. It was hard and smooth, as well as cold, like metal, but the surface felt wet, like water, even if her had wasn't getting wet or covered with anything. She pulled up on it with her finger tips and it easily slid upwards, like some sort of built-in mechanism. The Mask slid upwards into the helmet, dividing into 3 pieces as it did to easily fit into the helmet, revealing Talon's pale visage.

His skin was still pale and his hair was still black, but his eyes were closed and he seemed to be at peace. Katarina couldn't help but feel bitter anger at Talon for allowing such a beast to possess him. "You better not lose… You hear me Talon?" She whispered, gently grabbing both sides of his head as she gazed into his face. "That's an order…"

…

"En Garde!" Fiora shouted as she parried Stryker's thrust, retaliating with a thrust of her own. But much to her surprise, Stryker deflected it, moving in to attack her again. His speed was surprisingly impressive, the two fighters matched in terms of speed as their blades sang a silver blur of death infront of them. Each strike was deflected or parried as both combatants tried their level best to hit each other, neither of them giving ground as sparks flew with each strike.

Meanwhile, Shyvana roared in defiance, fire coming out of the sides of her mouth as she butted heads with Berserker. Though the man towered over her, she was proving to be just as strong as their hands were gripping each other in a grapple, foreheads pushed against each other as both growled. Shyvana felt her feet slipping in the grass as she snarled, fire suddenly igniting on her hands.  
"So soon Shyvana? I expected too much from you." Berserker said as Shyvana's eyes momentarily cleared of rage, replaced by confusion. His hands weren't burning. Suddenly, the pressure in his grip increased by a huge amount as Shyvana screamed, feeling her hands slowly being crushed. She wrenched her hands out, unable to react due to the pain as Berserker kicked her in the stomach. She went flying, crashing into a tree as Berserker exhaled, slamming his foot down in the ground, producing a massive sound. Like he weighed a ton.

Vayne was running through the forest, eyes darting around as she shot bolt after bolt at the tree tops. Crow was very agile, jumping from here to there as Vayne shot at her. Crow kept firing her own bolts at Vayne while she was in mid-jump, causing Vayne to take evasive maneuvers each time Crow jumped from her position. This was going to be a tough fight. What Vayne had in raw firepower, the girl she was fighting made up for with mobility. She fought like Quinn…. Vayne's red glasses gleamed momentarily as her mouth curled up into an almost unnoticeable smile.

Garen locked his sword with the Arbiter's blade, sparks flying as they both pushed against each other. The Arbiter's sword was unusual, having no guard as it went directly from a handle to the blade, branching outwards just after the handle before curving inwards along the majority length of the blade. It had a few gaps right above the handle, where the blade was widest. 4 gaps, each a quarter circle, so the metal inbetween looked like holy cross.

Garen grunted, shoving forwards as the Arbiter was forced to disengage, jumping back. Though the Arbiter was deceivingly strong, being able to handle that huge blade with one hand, he wasn't strong enough to contend with Garen's bull-like strength. The Arbiter moved in again, this time slashing rapidly at Garen with blinding speed, Garen taken completely by surprised as all he could do was block the strikes. How could the man use such a heavy blade like It weighed almost nothing? It was almost as frightening as Aatrox, maybe even more as the Arbiter seemed to be much stronger than he looked and Garen knew next to nothing about him. This was going to be a tough fight for all of the Demacians…

…

Fiora's blade produced a metallic sound as it was knocked aside by a very skilled flourish of Stryker's blade, the man suddenly thrusting forwards. Fiora's eyes widened as she sidestepped, the blade just barely grazing the side of her midriff, cutting a small incision on her bodysuit as well as on her skin. Crimson blood trickled out but she paid no mind to it. Fiora was actually very shocked, blue eyes wide as she stared at Stryker, the latter taking a casual stance with his sword lazily held out forwards.  
"I know that move… I've seen only one man ever do that move… It's you, isn't it, Lancelot de Ezma?"

"Good guess. I knew I shouldn't have used that move so soon." Stryker said, reaching up to his mask with his left hand. They were far enough from the rest of the battle so Stryker simply took his mask off, revealing his piercing blue eyes. Fiora felt the fight leaving her, her face transforming into shock and sorrow, her blade lowering as her hand shook. She felt like her leg was turning to jelly. "The only man… To have ever beaten me in a duel."

"5 years ago… And you've become so much more skilled, mi amor." Stryker said, offering a smug smile at Fiora, amused by her reaction.  
"Lancelot… Why?" She asked, feeling her heart cracking. 5 years ago, she had been proud and smug, blinded by hubris. This man had dueled her because of her overconfidence. 2 hours. The duel had lasted 2 hours until he had finally disarmed her. He was similar to her, proud and cocky. She took her defeat as a lesson of humility, training every day after to get as good as he was. She looked up to him. He was her rival. Her role model. Her replacement for the gap that her father left in her life. Now she finds out that he's a member of the Midnight blades.

"Come now Fiora, don't lower your guard like that." Stryker said, his face showing disappointment as he rolled his eyes.  
"No…. I won't…" Fiora said, closing her eyes in pain as she dropped her stance, lowering her sword. And then, her eyes opened again, flaring with fury streaked with sorrow as she raised her sword again. " I WILL NOT ALLOW YOU TO WALK UPON THE NAME YOU ONCE HELD!" She shouted, lunging forwards as she began striking him with renewed vigor. Each strike was blur as Stryker's face became serious, losing it's playful edge as he had to actually concentrate to parry and deflect her strikes, his own thrusts being deflected as soon as he made them. He was giving ground as Fiora pressed on, uttering cries of anger, effort and grief as she tried her utter best to cut him down. But as her speed was increasing, so was the raw effect of her emotions. And soon enough, her incredibly fast strikes had lost their lustrous elegance, becoming clumsy and inaccurate, though still being ridiculously fast.

Stryker's eyes narrowed as he uttered a small "Tch," of disappoint. With a lightning fast flourish of his sword, Fiora's rapier spun high into the air, spinning vertically in midair like a silver baton before falling to their side, quite some distance away, the blade digging down into the soft ground as it landed point-down.

Fiora was gasping, face pained and angry at the same time, eyes burning into Stryker's eyes as he held his blade to her neck.

"You are no longer Lancelot de Ezma… Now you're just a sword for hire! Vous Pute!" She shouted in indignation as Stryker's smug mask cracked, turning sour. With a step, he moved close to Fiora, slamming the pommel of his blade into her chin, hard, as Fiora's entire body arched back from the blow, getting knocked out cold right there as her knee's buckled. Her body fell down in an awkward position, with her legs bent under her, like a marionette who has had it's string's cut abruptly.

"I might've forsaken my title, Fiora Laurent. But do not make the mistake of walking upon my pride as a duelist!" He spat, eyes narrowed as an accent, similar to Fiora's, suddenly slipping into his speech as he spoke aggressively. He cleared his throat, regaining control over his accent as he simply glared down at her for a few more moments before walking over to her rapier, which was still embedded half-blade-length in the ground. Pulling it out, he walked back over to her and stuck it into the ground next to her head, putting his mask back on before proceeding to walk back to the cave.

…

Shyvana roared in defiance, suddenly jutting her head forwards as she slammed her forehead into Berserker's face. Berserker simply grunted, unmoving as Shyvana's head recoiled from the blow. It was like head butting a concrete wall, even with her dragon scales reinforcing her skin. But she had cracked the top parts of his mask, as some pieces fell away. Mainly, one of his eyes were revealed. Shyvana glanced at it before her eyes were glued to it, widening.

"Surprise?" Berserker asked. His eyes were glowing yellow, like a hawk's eye, but circling around the iris was something… A circle of metal outlined his irises, spinning slowly. That was all that Shyvana needed to know to confirm her suspicions.

"That's why you're so… indomitable. You're not completely human." Shyvana said as Berserker let out a deep chuckle.  
"Neither are you, if I might add. But unlike you, I'm not fully organic either." He said, pulling his right arm back as Shyvana crossed her arms infront of her, bracing for the impact. Red lights glowed from under the skin of Berserker's arm before he threw it forward, the punch impacting hard into Shyvana's block. Shyvana screamed in pain as she heard the audible cracks, her arms slamming into her chest from the sheer force before her entire body went flying back. She slammed into a tree again, causing a large portion of it to break and cave in, forming a crater in which she stuck to. Breathing hard, she inspected her arms. He had broken the gauntlets as well as the scales that had been protecting the arm, going far enough to bruise her arms badly. The bones had not been broken, but another hit like that without her gauntlets or scales to protect her and she would lost her arms. Her magenta colored eyes shot back up to Berserker as she pushed herself out of the tree, feet landing on the ground firmly. Her eyes turned predatory as her pupils dilated seconds before they contracted into reptilian slits. Fire exploded around her feet, spiraling upwards like a small tornado of fire, covering her completely. Then, the spinning wall of fire exploded outwards at Berserker, a huge, fully armored dragon exploding out of the flames at Berserker.

Berserker's eyes widened as he grabbed Shyvana's jaws right before she could bite down on him, the force of her leap carrying him backwards with her. His feet never left the ground, dust and mud flying out as he slid back from the Dragon's weight, feet slowly digging a path in the ground as Berserker grunted, pushing Shyvana's jaws away from him as she had to dig her own feet into the ground to stop her motion unless she wanted to crash head over heels. Spinning her head back around to face him, she opened her mouth at him, a deafening roar suddenly being overtaken by an even louder sound, which sounded similar to a jet engine powering up rapidly. Berserker only had that sound and the rapidly increasing glow within her throat as a warning before a huge jet of fire erupted out of the dragon's maw, the jet-engine like noise continuing at a constant climax throughout the pillar of fire's exit. This time, Berserker had to cross his arms infront of him to protect his face and torso as he leaned forwards, taking the brunt of the blast without hesitation. The fire pushed him backwards several feet until his feet finally dug in, his entire form engulfed by the accelerated inferno. The trees around the fire didn't just combust; They turned into ash instantly as the fire washed over them, stones and boulders melting while even the ground under the pillar of fire turned into a molten path. As the sound died out, Shyvana closing her jaws to cease the torrent of superheated air, she was astounded to see a red figure standing amidst the molten carnage. Berserker was still standing in the same posture, his entire body glowing a very bright shade of orange as steam curled out of from him. Shyvana was completely speechless, her jaw opening a bit in pure shock, unable to even react as Berserker lowered his hands, his eyes glowing red as his inner battlecast body was revealed. He jumped forwards, lowering both of his hands down at Shyvana's head in a dual-hammer blow.

The strike was emphasized by the resounding sound as Shyvana's scales cracked, her head being forced to slam into the ground underneath as Berserker's blow landed. The hit had completely jumbled her head and mind, causing her to revert back to her human form as she struggled to get back up on her hands. Her sense of balance was completely haywire as her vision swayed and swam, nothing but a blur of colors. Berserker reached down, grabbing her by the neck , his glowing red hands hot enough to vaporize the sweat on her neck into team as he raised her up. Shyvana was too disoriented to protest, weakly trying to pry his fingers away from her throat. Berserker positioned his other hand infront of her stomach, the pistons visibly preparing themselves within the battlecast structure of his arm, hands closing into a tight fist. Then, he shot out with a mighty punch to her stomach, the pistons letting loose as steam erupted from his elbow, his fist driving into her torso.

Shyvana couldn't even scream from the pain, just making choked gaping noises as her vision and mind went white with pain. She wasn't even aware of the blood and the contents of her stomach being forcibly shot out of her mouth, turning into steam as it landed upon Berserker's superheated body. As the blackness of unconsciousness slowly crept into her vision, Shyvana's head rolled back, silently realizing one painful thing…

"_I can't feel my legs…"_

As Shyvana went outcold, Berserker dropped her, now glowing a dull red as his metal body slowly cooled down. He was surprised he didn't punch a hole right through her or didn't punch her body in half. The dragoness' body was stronger than he expected, but he had still badly damaged her internals. Most noticeably, he had completely severed her spinal cord at the waist, as his red eyes revealed the her anatomy under her skin and muscles.

Grumbling at the loss of his clothes, skin and mask, as well as his axe, Berserker turned around and began walking away from his fallen opponent.

…

Vayne tumbled behind a tree as 3 bolts slammed into the ground, following her tumble until the 4th one hit the trunk of the tree she was behind with a thunk. She was gasping, fixing her askew glasses before patting her shoulders with her free hand for more bolts. None was found. She reached to her waist, towards her ammo packs in her utility belt, to find them all empty of bolts. She had used up her entire supply of bolts firing at Crow, including her regular bolts.

Vayne wasn't badly hurt, but she wasn't completely fine either. There were crimson lines around the outsides of her arms, her legs and her torso where Crow's bolts had barely skimmed her. One had planted itself right into Vayne's left thigh, where the barbed tip had caused havoc within the flesh. Vayne dared not take out of the bolt as it would take out a huge chunk of flesh with it, but each movement with it in her thigh had torn up her quadriceps even more.

She heard a light sound behind her, on the other side of a small clearing. The tree she hid behind provided a barrier between her and Crow, who had presumably landed on the other side.  
"Come out Vayne. I know you're out of ammo and I distinctly remember punching a few holes into your larger crossbow until you had to ditch it."

Even in this situation, a small smirk came onto Vayne's lips as she called back, "Oh? And how are you so sure I'm all out, Crow?"

"I remember the few times you had worked with us to take down mutual targets. You always keep around two hundred and fifty bolts all over your body. You've used them all, I've counted." Crow said knowledgably.  
Vayne chuckled lowly, shaking her head as she stood up. She came out from behind the tree to face Crow in the clearing, throwing her crossbow gauntlet down as she walked out from the shadow, allowing the moonlight to bathe her. Crow took similar steps forward until they stood 10 ft away from each other.

"Cocky, aren't we? I can stick a bolt into your head right now and be done with it." Crow said, her voice carrying small hints of amusement.  
"You aren't the only one with a good count of things and some internal knowledge. I know you've already used your own share of bolts, all 301 of them." Vayne said in a knowing voice, raising her right hand before using her forefinger to push her glasses up.  
"So you even remembered the lucky three hundred and first bolt that I keep? Impressive." Crow said, nodding. The female Midnight Blade hadn't been the only one to dish out the damage. Her coat was pretty much tattered from the numerous bolts piercing through them, slices and thin cuts all over the outside edges of her body similar to Vayne.

"Enough talk, Crow." Vayne said, her face regaining it's serious composure as she took up a combat stance. Crow raised an unseen eyebrow, not really familiar with the older woman's close combat. Crow was quite a good CQC fighter but she had never seen Vayne engage in a hand-to-hand. She took a cautious stance, assessing Vayne. The older woman still had a larger wound than Crow, mainly because of the bolt sticking out of her thigh.

With a powerful kick off, Crow jumped towards Vayne, easily reaching a good height as she spun around to execute a spinning kick to Vayne's head. Vayne easily ducked under it, throwing up an uppercut aimed at the apex of Crow's thighs, which Crow prevented as she kicked out with her other leg mid-spin, forcing Vayne's punch to hit nothing but the air next to Crow's waist.  
As the younger woman landed, Vayne didn't wait to give an opportunity to Crow, using her uninjured leg to thrust her body forwards. As crow looked behind her, she was met with an elbow to the face, the metal mask on her face cracking from the impact as Vayne winced in pain, but didn't allow the pain to stop her other hand from digging a punch into Crow's stomach. Crow doubled over in pain, but used that same movement to mask her next attack. She lunged forward, head still lowered, head butting right into Vayne's stomach as the night hunter felt the wind knocked out of her. Without a second to spare, Crow uttered a cry of effort as she grabbed the bolt stuck in Vayne's thigh and twisted it before tearing it out, Vayne letting out a scream of pain.

Crow stumbled back as Vayne fell into a crouch, applying pressure to her profusely bleeding wound as she hissed continuously. Crow simply cleaned the flesh and skin sticking to the barbed tip before waving it defensively infront of her, prepared to use it as a melee weapon. Vayne was slowly crawling back in pain, probably realizing she had lost the upperhand. She didn't really have it to begin with as Crow approached her confidently.

"Any last words for your final hour, Shauna Vayne?" Crow asked, gripping the bolt in her hand tightly. Vayne had turned over onto her back, facing away from her as she tried to crawl away. But as Crow spoke, Vayne stopped.

"Yes… Just two words…" Vayne muttered, suddenly spinning around to reveal her crossbow gauntlet back on her arm, a bolt fit into it. "Lucky bolt." She said a moment before Crow realized the crossbow was armed.

A second later, the bolt punched into Crows right shoulder, driving right through her collar bone and into her shoulder blade as Crow let out a bloodcurdling scream of agony, her entire right arm spasming from the pain, which in turn, caused even more pain as blood spurted out of the wound. Her bolt had fallen out of her hand, forgotten as Crow clutched her wound with her left hand in pain.

Vayne moved in quick, ignoring the screaming muscles of her mangled thigh as she tumbled forwards, landing right under Crow. She used her uninjured leg to propel herself upwards, landing a powerful uppercut into Crow's chin, causing the young girl's breathing to abruptly pause as she was knocked out. Crow fell backwards, uttering low moans as her body lay unmoving, just a muscle twitching every now and then, completely senseless. Vayne massaged her fist from the pain before she looked around herself for any sign of the others. A long time back, after learning that Crow always kept a lucky bolt, Vayne herself had always kept a lucky extra bolt in a hidden pocket on the inside of her belt. She had remembered about it when Crow had head butted into her stomach, causing the bolt's form to press against her as she fell. Finding none, Vayne began to go back the way they had come, limping as she hissed in pain with every step, leaving Crow lying on the ground…

…

Garen was panting in effort, holding his blade up as his left shoulder guard, already cracked and broken, finally fell to pieces, rolling off his shoulder and to the ground. He was pretty banged up, mainly from blunt hits than slashes. The hits had come from turning the Arbiter's lethal slashes into blunt hits with a flick of Garen's blade or with skillful movement, or from the impacts against the ground or trees as Garen had to move to dodge lethal attacks.

The Arbiter, however, wasn't even winded in the least. His face was concealed by his mask, giving Garen an unease about how the blankness of the Arbiter reflected his seemingly infinite stamina. The black blade was raised over his shoulders in a cocky and relaxed stance, as always, but the Arbiter didn't exude arrogance. He exuded dominance, like he deserved the respect his skill and posture demanded. And Garen had to grudgingly agree to it. The Arbiter's strikes were as fast as Aatrox's cleaves, as elegant as Irelia's blades, as powerful as Tryndamere's slashes and as fluid as Jax's weapon-handling.

"Tell me this, Arbiter. You don't look like you're from Demacia nor Noxus. Not even Ionia. So tell me. Where are you from?" He asked.

"Do you really wish to know, Might of Demacia?" The Arbiter asked, tilting his head to the side infinitesimally, so it was barely noticed. Garen stayed silent as the Arbiter took that as a yes.  
"It's a city you haven't heard of. Even I do not remember it's name, whether that's for better or worse. It's located deep within the Shadow Isles, one of the few places that wasn't completely overrun with the ghoulish and the dark." He said, his head lowering fractionally. But that was enough of a warning as Garen raised his sword to block another onslaught by the Arbiter.

This man was unlike anyone Garen had ever faced before. His black sword, Retribution, was nothing but a black blur of death as it slashed and stabbed with lightning-fast speed and liquid-like fluidity. Numerous times, Garen had seen the Arbiter pass the sword from one hand to the other without the slightest hesitation or any effect to his combat prowess, proving him to be ambidextrous. The way he spun and flourished his blades while managing to make every movement deadly was like a poisonous form of art to Garen, who revered any good combatant. Garen had to admit, the Arbiter was much, much stronger and more versatile than he had ever expected. He was actually losing.

With a cry of "DEMACIA!" to bolster his spirit, Garen shoved the Arbiter's blade back as it came, before throwing a hand forward to punch the Arbiter in the gut. The fist dug into the lightly armored clothing the Arbiter was wearing, causing him to make a small grunt in reaction to the punch before he retaliated with his own punch, slamming it onto the side of Garen's jaw. Garen's head was forced to the side as the Arbiter used the same arm he had used to punch to elbow Garen's face, simply by pulling his arm back from it's final position after his punch. The elbow slammed into Garen's nose, as he had been forced to face that way from the punch prior, causing the Demacian to go stumbling back, blood erupting out of his broken nose. Garen swung his sword up just in time to meet blades with the Arbiter, who was swinging his sword down. Another thing Garen noticed was that the Arbiter used only one hand to wield his great sword while Garen used two. Even then, he managed to match strength with Garen, perhaps even overpower him.

As both fighters pulled away, Garen narrowed his eyes. "What in the name of Lightshield are you, Arbiter? Have you strayed so far from your humanity that you are no longer human?"

The Arbiter let out a small chuckle before saying, "Tell me Garen, do you know what my title means? It means I'm both the Judge and the Executioner. I have learnt the hard way that, if you wish to destroy evil, you must be willing to do evil things."

The Arbiter raised his left hand at Garen, fingers forming a claw shape. "If you must beat the villains… Then you must become the greater villain."  
Then, suddenly, a black burst of energy shot out from the Arbiter's hand, catching Garen by surprise. It slammed into his torso with a heavy impact, like a boulder, moments before it exploded. Garen's mind went black from the shockwave as he numbly registered his body flying through the air before slamming into the ground, laying still, his mind still reeling from the explosion. The Arbiter walked over to Garen. "I have my own plans for everything, Might of Demacia. Though our methods are different, our goals are the same. To rid this world of the corrupt." Those were the final words the Arbiter spoke to Garen before Garen's vision died out, his consciousness leaving him.

The Arbiter stared down at the Might of Demacia lying unconscious, utterly defeated, as members of his own squad slowly emerged from the surroundings. The first one to come was Berserker, The Arbiter mildly surprised to see him in his fully revealed battlecast form.

"How long?" The Arbiter asked.  
"It will take me 3 hours to completely regrow my organic shell." Berserker answered. Already, the Arbiter could see some strands of muscle stretching over various metal parts of his body, slowly increasing as more and more sinew formed.  
Moments later, Stryker appeared, his walk lacking the usual confident gait as he seemed serious.

"Did she shove another stick up your ass, Stryker?" Berserker asked in his low, rumbly voice as Stryker sneered behind his mask. "Fuck you, Berserker." He replied, obviously in a bad mood.

Instead of Crow, however, the Arbiter was greeted with the surprising sight of Vayne limping into view. Vayne's eyes widened behind her glasses as she saw the three Midnight Blades standing while Garen lied unconscious infront. That meant the others had lost… or died.

"It seems our youngest has fallen. Shame, she had potential. Vayne, you will find Fiora to the east and Shyvana to the south. I believe you are smart enough to take this as a chance to save your friends instead of running headfirst into death, dooming your friends to the sorry state as well." The Arbiter said, turning away as he began walking back to the cave. On the way, however, he reached down and grabbed a Demacian soldier, who was barely alive, by the collar of his armor, continuing to walk back as he dragged the soldier with him, the other two following him. Vayne cursed under her breath as she tried to rouse Garen, kneeling down next to him…

* * *

**So yeah, please leave your thoughts on the chapter and anything you have to say, be it just friendly casuals or constructive criticism. I welcome everything, from friendliness to flames to rainbow filled homosexual love. Okay, maybe no the last part, but it's nice to see my readers love me [Or hate me, hue]  
**

**Currently, I'm in a Dragon Age type of mood after playing the game Dragon Age II. I'm just in love with the default female Hawke 3**


	14. Chapter 14

******Hey readers and welcome to a new chapter of Darkness Rising, previously known as Wings of the Raven.  
I'm a bit put out by the lack of response from last chapter, worried as well. Did you guys lose track of this story when I changed the name? Or did most of you entirely give up on it due to my long delay? :( **

**Well, fear not, I have not abandoned it and the response that I did get, few as it was, was quite well. Shoutout to Shadow Dreamz for contacting and chatting with me. I do love praises, since I'm a narcissistic a-hole. xD**

Anyways, hope you all enjoy this chapter.  
This chapter was not proofread by any beta or alpha. If any of you wish to beta/alpha this story, please contact me.

* * *

**Darkness Rising**

**Chapter 14: Peace over enmity**

Only a few minutes had crossed after the Arbiter had left. Nightshade was watching both Ezreal and Lux very keenly as Ezreal stared back at him in a challenging way, eyes narrowed as he tried to see through the shadows covering Nightshade's face.

"Lux. How are you holding up?" Ezreal whispered as Lux looked up at him. "I'm okay, Ez… So please, stop worrying. The Arbiter gave me his word that I wouldn't be harmed." She replied, sounding unsure but giving a weak smile nonetheless, trying to liven up the atmosphere.

"Don't worry Lux… I won't let them take you away." Ezreal said, eyes narrowed as he glared at Nightshade. Nightshade simply kept his hooded face turned towards Ezreal, making the explorer feel slightly uncomfortable about not being able to see his opponent's eyes.

"Ez… Listen to me… I need you to leave me." Lux whispered. The statement was so surprising that Ezreal's eyes widened, snapping his head around to face her. "What!?" He hissed at her as Lux's eyes seemed resolute. "No. Listen to me. I don't want you to die just because of me. I've spoken to the Arbiter. The Noxians want me, but not you. They'll kill you." Lux whispered urgently as a fire burned within Ezreal's eyes. "I am not leaving you!" He whispered vehemently, as Lux's eyes hardened. "Ez. If you die, I will have no chance at living. Whatever Noxus plans, they'll kill me after it's done. If you escape now, you can come back with help later. Please, Ezreal. Do it for me." Lux said, her voice firm and strong at first but then becoming pleading as she begged Ezreal to do this for her.

Ezreal closed his eyes in pain, torn between two choices. But in the end, he decided that Lux's idea gave them a better chance, even if it did fill him with dread to leave her.  
"So be it." Ezreal said as he stood up, Nightshade taking his movement defensively as he too stood up. "Without my gauntlet… I have no choice. It's been a long time since I've done this." Ezreal muttered, looking down at the markings on the back of his hands. 3 triangles, the top points of the bottom two meeting the lower corners of the top triangle, the three forming a large triangle itself. It was like a birthmark on his skin.

He felt the power rushing in his veins as he began to harness it, forcing it to manifest without a medium. He clenched his teeth against the pain as Nightshade stood where he was, confused as to what Ezreal was doing. But the bolt of energy that shot out of Ezreal's hand had completely caught Nightshade off guard, slamming into his torso, the impact completely incapacitating the assassin. Without wasting another moment, Ezreal dashed out of the cave, using flux energy to accelerate his movements. It was taking a huge toll on his body and on his mind, but his heart was aching the most as he left Lux…

…

It was near morning as sunshine hit Talon's eyes. He uttered a soft moan, feeling a slight weight on his chest. _'What happened?' _He thought as he opened his eyes tentatively, letting the blur of intensely bright colors swim in his vision before they slowly dimmed and sharpened, his brown eyes adjusting to the light. He glanced down, eyes going wide with surprise to see Katarina. She was lying to his right, her head resting on his chest. Her right hand was thrown across his body, curling around his left side, while her left arm was bent over her head, probably having served as a pillow until her head found Talon's chest to be more comfortable. He could feel the swell of her chest partially pushed up against his midriff, moving every few seconds as she breathed. Talon glanced around, noticing Riven not too far away. She was also asleep, half-collapsed in a messy pile of hay, arms stretched out. She had many healing cuts and bandages on many places, most noticeably on her thigh.

Finally, Talon noticed the location they were in as flashes of memory came shooting across his mind… _Her marble-like skin, smooth and soft on his as she rubbed against him… Her pale hair cascading down the side of her head as she stared down at him, muttering sweet nothings… Her moans of pleasure as she rode him, her modest breasts jumping up and down with each movement…_

Talon shot upwards, sitting up almost fast enough to cause his vision to blur again as Katarina's head and arm was shoved off of him. Katarina woke up with a jolt, suddenly jumping up into a cat-like defensive posture, one hand on the ground along with her toes, supporting her off the ground as her other hand drew a dagger. Her knees were just inches off the ground, her entire body weight supported by her hand and the toes of her feet. Looking around with panicked eyes, she relaxed to see there was no threat.

But she tensed again when she saw Talon sitting up infront of her, staring at her with brown eyes, his messy brown hair bedraggled as always. He looked shocked. Confused. Pained, even. Was that guilt in his eyes…?

"…Talon?" Katarina asked, feeling her heart pounding as the silence stretched for what seemed like hours.  
Finally, after a long time, Talon's gaze focused on her eyes and he nodded.

Katarina exhaled a breath she didn't know she was holding before lowering her dagger and eyes to the gorund. After a while, she looked up again, her emerald eyes losing their dangerous gleam, layer after layer being pushed aside until the only thing Talon could see inside of her green eyes was vulnerability.  
"It's good to see you're still you… I… I was scared." She muttered, closing her eyes as she lowered her face, leaving Talon with mild shock.

Admitting a weakness was one of the worst things a Noxian could do. It was like signing your own death warrant. But Talon didn't feel disgust nor contempt over her confession.  
"To be honest… So was I." He muttered darkly, Katarina's eyes opening quickly as she looked up at him, her turn to be surprised. "But not of Nocturne." Talon said.

Katarina stared into his brown eyes, feeling nostalgic as memories of how long she had stared into those eyes almost all her life. "What were you afraid of?" She whispered, her usually deep and mature voice now quiet, like she was a child again.

Talon continued to gaze back into her brilliant eyes, not blinking nor even aware of how close their faces had come. Every second could be their last. Talon could cease to exist if Nocturne ever overpowered him. He could die on the battlefield. Worst of all, he could be the one to kill Katarina… He didn't care how quickly they were taking things. It was far too late, in his opinion. Time was now too short and things were happening fast all over the place. Yet, this new closeness to Katarina was blossoming too slow.  
Even then, he wanted it to drip into his soul as slow as it was. It was like sweet poison, slowly killing the pain inside of him as his life was being snatched away from every direction. He could feel her warm breath gently washing over him as they leaned closer to each other…  
"… I was afraid of leaving you." He whispered back as he saw the vulnerability in Katarina's eyes being shattered to reveal the depth of her feelings for him. It wanted him to wrap his arms around her and protect her as he slowly raised his right hand to hold her shoulder, to support her as they leaned closer.

Katarina's green eyes suddenly winced in pain as she flinched, Talon instantly releasing Katarina, both of them turning to look at his right hand. His entire arm was covered in black armor, the fingers covered by metal claws. His blade, covered with similar black material, was still on the back of his hand, but the sharp points of his metal fingers had hurt Katarina. Talon grimaced, not realizing he was still in Nocturne's armor.

"Integumentum. I've heard Nocturne referring to this armor as Integumentum." Talon muttered darkly, flexing his hand as he got a feel for it. It seemed to be heavy armor, the type knights would wear, but it was utterly flexible and lightweight. The perfect armor for an assassin, if he hadn't known it belonged to an entity of pure malevolence and darkness hell-bent on killing everything he knew and didn't know, he would've actually liked wearing this armor. He studied the metallic talons covering his fingers, finding them both hard and very flexible at the same time.

Katarina looked down at the floor, disappointed as the moment between them had died. "I think we should move out today. We should find another settlement to stay at before Swain's Noxians come pouring in." She said, turning hard eyes on Talon as she tried to assess his physical condition.  
"Are you injured?"

Talon grimaced, his lips pressing into a thin line as he muttered, "No… I retain full health and mobility. Although I do not know why Nocturne has withdrawn from my mind or what has caused him to, I don't make the mistake of thinking he's gone for good." He said in his familiar gravelly, baritone voice which reassured Katarina that it was indeed Talon.

"Good, then you can help Riven." She said, standing up as Talon nodded. Also moving to stand. He reached over his head, squeezing his armored fingers behind his collar to reach for his hood underneath. The armor almost felt alive as the wet-feeling metal around his fingers actually bent and squeezed, like flesh, to allow him to reach down and be able to grasp his hood. Pulling it out and over his head, he was mildly surprised to find it colored black as well, black material similar to his armor coating it.

As Riven struggled to stand up, still yawning and rubbing the sleep from her eyes, Katarina looked over her shoulder, raising an eyebrow at Talon as she smirked. "You know, black is totally your color."

"Yeah, because looking awesome while being awesome is so much better." Talon said sarcastically, mentally agreeing with Katarina. In Noxus, the pollution and perhaps the very dread emanating from the city colored the night sky purplish blue. His habit of staying on rooftops made most people glance at him with the purplish sky to his back. That gave him more concealment than full black, which would cause him to stick out like a silhouette. But out here, where there wasn't many rooftops to jump through, it forced him to stick to shadows much more often. And black suited the task much better. But now, it was daylight. At night, Talon, although not in total control of his body, had seen what the armor could do. It could meld itself into the shadows, effectively making him invisible to simply devouring the rays of light that hit him, essentially turning him into a walking blindspot for the human eye.

"Well, atleast now everyone you kill will be able to say you killed with style." Katarina said, smirking as Talon smirked as well.  
"I'd say my kills have enough style and flair as it is." He countered, causing Katarina to chuckle and Riven's lips to curl up into a smile, the rare humor making its way through the dull throbbing of her leg.

Talon wondered… While locked away inside his mind, he had still retained the feeling of his body, had thought what Nocturne was thinking. The only upside from their merged minds was that Nocturne could not hide his thoughts from Nocturne, and amidst all the chaotic nightmarish thoughts within the mind of the walking nightmare, Talon had learned to fish for the intelligent, predatory thoughts that lingered at the forefront.

And he knew that this armor empowered his normal body by extreme lengths… So the immense physical power and speed that Nocturne displays while in control of his body was from this armor, not from him.

Experimentally, Talon bent his knees and jumped upwards. His expectation of a slightly-higher than normal jump was blown apart as he went atleast 20 feet into the air, grabbing onto the rafters high above and pulling himself onto it, eyes wide with surprise and with the joy of a toddler finding a new toy.

"What the fuck?" Katarina swore when she turned around to see Talon fly up like a black bat, his black cloak of blades resembling leathery wings.

"You know, If I can drive Nocturne out, I wouldn't mind keeping this." Talon said, smirking as he gripped down into the wood with his fingers, his metal talons digging into the wood. He then gently hopped forwards, allowing himself to fall the 20 ft and land without the slightest noise, which was extremely eerie even to him.

"Great, now you look like some freakish human bat chimera." Katarina muttered as Talon smirked, "Call me Batman." He replied as Riven rolled her eyes. "If we're done with the chitty chatter, can we go get some breakfast? I'm famished." She said.

Katarina nodded, looking from Riven to Talon. "We eat then we depart."  
Talon nodded, walking over to Riven as he allowed Riven to encircle one arm around his neck, over his shoulders, to support her. "Sounds good." Talon said as Riven adjusted her broken sword at her hip.

..

Ezreal gasped, out of breath as he collapsed down onto his knees, panting from the exertion of running with his mystical energy fueling his movements. His reserves, however, had dimmed considerably and he needed to give them time to replenish. Using his powers without his gauntlet to act as a medium had adverse effects, however. They would come in time as well, but the first side-effect had already shown itself.

Running a hand through his hair, he brought some of his longer bangs infront of his eyes, confirming the fact that his blonde hair had been drained of color, turning full white. He now looked like one of those frejlordian explorers, Tundra hunters, they were called, if he remembered right.

Ezreal closed his eyes, forcing himself to focus. He had to get back to Piltover and gather help. From there, he could then send someone to Demacia, letting them know as well. But before Ezreal could begin bolting again, he heard a low moan. It sounded like the moan of a person in pain. Curiousity got the better of the explorer as he slowly made his way through the undergrowth, the aging night sky noticeably lighter in its bluish shade than it was when he had begun his run. As he neared the source of the low moans, he tripped over something. Looking back, he noticed a silver bolt embedded in the ground. Alert and cautious, he slowly walked out from behind a tree, prepared to fire energy bolts from his hands if danger presented itself.

What he saw was a young girl dressed in black leather, lightly armored, lying on the ground and moaning in pain, a small pool of blood around the right side of her body. She was struggling to breathe, tear tracks visible on her cheeks as her eyes remained closed. Inbetween the ragged, slow breaths that caused her low moans, she was whimpering in pain, trying to move. But her body wouldn't respond, her mind too fogged by the pain of her shattered collarbone and by the weakness induced by bloodloss to form coherent commands. The best she could do was twitch a finger on her uninjured hand.

Ezreal neared her, recognizing the girl. Her mask had been cracked and the glass front shattered in places, revealing one eye which was closed in pain. "Crow." He muttered, his voice startling Crow although her body didn't respond by jumping, only her eyes opening. Her exposed eye looked up at him, the onyx iris shining with unshed tears although it looked dull as well, as if she had given up on her life.

"Explorer." She whispered, her voice monotone and low. "Do me kindness, explorer… End my suffering." She whispered, pleading with him as another attempt at movement caused her pain. Ezreal stared down at her, weighing his options. She was one of the group who had kidnapped both him and Lux and planned to give Lux to Swain. However, she was still a young girl, abandoned by her kin because she had lost a fight, it seemed. If what Berserker had mentioned counted for anything, the girl must've had a hard past for her to shed her previous life and become a Midnight Blade.

"Don't make me regret this." He hissed, crouching down next to her as he reached down into his ankle, fingers curling into the inside of his pant. He kept a small, secret compartment on the inside leg of every pant he owned, small enough to not be detected by a simple touch. He found what he was looking for and brought it out, a small vial of red liquid. He uncorked it, hesitating for a second before turning it over and pouring it into wound where the large bolt sticking out of her shoulder.

The girl's eyes went wide, her pupils contracting a moment before they closed shut in pain. She was so exhausted, she wasn't even able to scream, only whimper in pain as she fidgeted. The vial didn't contain much liquid. As soon as he had turned it, it had been emptied. "That'll help, but it'll heal only the severest wounds." He said as he pulled his sleeve back, grateful for the wrappings on his arms and body and leg. He only took it from the arm, however, unwinding it completely up to his shoulder. As he held the bunched up wrappings, planning on dressing her wound, he paused. He would have to undress her. Eyes narrowing, he gulped before he reached over to her mask. Upon touching it, Crow felt the slight pressure, her eyes opening to find him grasping her mask.

"What are you doing?" She asked in a weak voice, though it had become stronger than the ragged, whispery voice she had been speaking with moments ago. She flinched with pain again as she felt her bones slowly being mended.

"Helping you." Ezreal replied, taking her mask off to reveal her pale face, the alabaster skin on her left cheek colored red by smudged blood, it's source a small cut on the apex of her cheekbone, probably from a jagged piece of her cracked mask digging into it. But that wasn't the problem, as he studied her black hair thrown out on the ground around her head, most notably the part that was dyed red and sticky, near her wound, pinned under her. "Your hair is probably sticking to your wound. It'll make things much harder, so I'll have to cut it." He said. Crow didn't respond as Ezreal gently grasped her head with one hand, under the neck, pulling it up so he could get another hand under her head. Summoning some of his mystical energies, he used miniature bolts of energy to cut a good portion of her hair off.

Just then, Crow's eyes shot open, visibly shaking as her teeth clenched in immense pain. Ezreal grimaced. "Well, here comes the hard part." He muttered, putting her back down before wrapping his fingers around the shaft of the bolt embedded into her shoulder. She shot him a fearful look before he wrenched it out, a spurt of blood accompanying it. Finally, Crow screamed out loud in pain, before closing her mouth, tears leaking out from the corners of her clenched-shut eyes.

With an audible crack, her collarbone righted itself in it's rightful position, the hole closing up somewhat but still remaining open and bleeding. "The potion has done its job. I'm afraid the rest will have to heal on it's own." He said, as he watched her breathing slowly steady, eyes finally opening to look at him.

"Why are you helping me?" She asked in a breathless voice as Ezreal shrugged. "I'm not like your so-called 'team mates'." He answered. "Look, I still have to bandage you up, and to do that, You'll have to bare your torso."

He swore he was blushing although he kept a professional face. Crow glanced down at his face again, giving the smallest of nods as confirmation for him to proceed.

Ezreal found the zipper to her leather outfit near her neck, slowly pulling it down the center of her body to reveal more pale skin and a white bra, stained red on one side from the blood. He pulled it down to her naval, before pulling it open more on her right side to reveal her shoulder. He pulled it over the shoulder, so the entire top-right side of her body was bared to her, the red brassiere having soaked up enough to be wet to the touch, he reckoned. If Crow could spare the blood, he was sure she'd be blushing as well, as he noticed her eyes were tightly closed, biting her lips in embarrassment.

Ezreal helped her sit up, pulling her up to a tree. Crow didn't have major pain anymore, but she was till weak from bloodloss. Letting her lean against a tree, he then worked on pulling her skin-fitting outfit off her arms, baring her entire backside to him so he could effectively wrap it around her. He was behind her, so her back was facing him as he said, "You'll have to work with me on this one."

She nodded as Ezreal fumbled with the strap of her bra. After a long, frustrating amount of time, he finally had it undone as Crow allowed it to fall down her arms, crossing them over her front to preserve her modesty. The bolt had punctured through shoulder and out her back, which was why her hair was stuck to the wound. With the bolt gone, it was easier to remove the ones still sticking to it. Then, he began bandaging it. He bandaged her back, from her left midriff to over her right shoulder, where Crow took the roll and wrapped it around her front, handing it back to him at the spot where he began. Like this, they continued until he ran out of wrapping and had to tie and secure it. Though he used these flexible wrappings on his arms and torso for both style and functionality, they doubled as bandages pretty well. Ezreal then helped Crow pull her rubbery leather one-piece outfit back over the top part of her body. She decided not to wear her bloodied brassiere, as it was already ruined.

After she had pulled the zipper up, Ezreal said, "Look, I know you're really weak from bloodloss right now, but we can't find any provisions here. I know a small settlement nearby, we're probably half way to Noxus, where we can rest."

Crow remained silent for a few moments, still facing away from him before she struggled to a standing position, using both Ezreal and the tree to help her stand. She turned around to face him again, her onyx eyes seeming more resolute now. Ezreal noticed that she had markings under her eyes. Two vertical lines down the center of both eyes, probably just a bit bigger than 1 inch, majorly reaching down the front of her high cheekbones, ending just before the curve of her nostrils began. Another smaller line stretched horizontally over the other line just a few millimeters before it ended. The looked like upside-down crucifixes and, combined with her long eyelashes, did indeed make her look like a crow in a way.

"Yes… That sounds good." She muttered.  
"Alright… I'll help you walk, Crow." He said, offering her his shoulders to lean on. She did, albeit hesitating. She whispered something inaudible, as Ezreal furrowed his eyebrows. "Sorry, I didn't catch that."

"Eraya." She repeated, slightly louder. "My name is Eraya Valentine."

..

Lux had been glaring at Nightshade, who seemed to not even care that Ezreal had escaped. Every attempt she had made at goading him or conversing with him had been met with silence.

Finally, sounds from outside the cave as the Arbiter walked in, dragging a Demacian soldier with him, accompanied by Berserker and Stryker. Lux gasped, her hands shooting up to cover her mouth in shock as she beheld the large mass of exposed muscle and metal that was currently Berserker. Berserker merely grunted before taking his previous place in the cave, sitting and relaxing as the Arbiter pulled the demacian soldier infront of him, on his knees.

"Garen Crownguard is dead, along with Fiora Laurent, Shauna Vayne and Shyvana. They dared to attack us with a squad of Demacian's elites. All of them have fallen. Do you confirm it, Harold?" The Arbiter said, most of his speech directed to the shellshocked Lux before addressing the soldier.

The demacian soldier was silent, giving a solemn nod as he looked at Lux with helpless eyes. "Forgive me, Lady Luxanna.." He muttered as the Arbiter drew a small black knife from inside his black coat and slit the soldier's throat open, showering the blood forwards. Before the soldier had dropped to the ground, Lux had already fallen unconscious, still shocked with the death of her brother. As the Arbiter allowed the man to fall, Nightshade stood up.

"The boy managed to get away, Arbiter. I'm sorry, he was able to use his powers without his gauntlet and it caught me offguard." Nightshade said solemnly.

"At ease. The boy is not our target nor any use to us. You, Nightshade, however have your reckoning coming. We near Noxus and the man you wish to kill might or might not be there. I heard Swain sent the Headhunters to hunt him down." The Arbiter said as Nightshade lowered his head.

"Yes… Talon. He will soon pay for the betrayal he had committed years ago. Soon." Nightshade said in a low voice, clenching his fist…

* * *

**So, can any of you guess who Nightshade is? This chapter leaves alot of questions, I'm sure, and perhaps alot of you are eager for the answers. Please take some time to review and tell me what you think of the chapter and the entire plot of the story in general. :3 It would mean alot to me.**


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